Last Kiss
by myagrace
Summary: Based on the song 'Last Kiss'- by Pearl Jam. They're happy and in love. What happens one night when Edward and Bella are on a date and things come crashing down around them? Does that mean this will be their last kiss? Or will love find a way? ExB
1. Chapter 1

A/N Alrighty! Hey peeps! Soooooo here's my story, I hope you guys like it. I was listening to this song one day and it hit me that I wanted to put it down on paper. So this all came out of my head somehow. I'm just hoping that y'all like it.

The song, I prefer the version by Pearl Jam. It has a bit more soul and raspyness (word?) than other versions I've heard. So that's my reasoning for that.

I have songs for most all of the chapters so it's advised to listen to them with each chapter. If not, that's all gravy. It's not mandatory.

Anywho! Don't worry, I will have everyone in this story at some point. (ok maybe not EVERYONE, but the ones that matter… just go with me here.)

Oky doky, I've rambled enough.

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to the great S.M., i.e. not me. I'm just playing with the characters

Beta'd by LaurieWhitlock, aka- Lola;p mia sorella

ENJOY Y'ALL!

Playlist: 2 is better than 1- Boys like girls and Taylor Swift (you'll find I'm a T.S. nut)

Today was a fairytale- Taylor Swift.

* * *

><p>BPOV<p>

"Edward! What the hell is that?" I shouted out of the bedroom door.

He was in the kitchen 'attempting' to cook dinner. I emphasize 'attempting'. Edward, well… let's see how I can put it lightly… he can't cook worth a shit. Haa!

It's true though. We've been dating for a little over two years and, dear lord in heaven knows I love him, but his lack of cooking skills is worrisome. Normally you don't set the apartment on fire by simply boiling water.

My poor Edward.

Right now, I hear pots and pans being banged around and the occasional one falling to the floor. Along with a cuss word or two. _Ugh, not my kitchen._

"Sorry Bells. Your cat got in my way…" Edward yelled back down the hallway.

_Yeah, I'll just bet it was the cat… again…_

That's what he says every time he gets in there and tries to cook a meal for us. This time I know it's not Monkey, because he is asleep at the foot of our bed…

_Yeah, definitely not the cat_.

"Stop blaming Monkey just because you're hopeless!" I yelled back out the door.

"I love you!" He yells … I love it every time he tells me that.

"I love you more! Clearly because I still keep you around to burn down our house" I yelled back, teasingly.

There was suddenly two warm arms yanking me out of the bathroom towards the bedroom. And I couldn't help the squeak I let out since he scared the ever loving hell out of me.

"That's it!" Edward says as he pulls me down on the bed with him.

"What are you doing? I thought you were cooking dinner for us." I asked as he attacked my neck with kisses.

"You know I can't resist you, even when you're complaining about my lack of mad cooking skills. I don't understand why you don't just do it for us. You know it always ends in disaster for me." He says, still kissing down to my collarbone.

"Edward, you know I've told you time and time again I will gladly teach you how to cook. But you refuse to let me take control." I told him, tangling my fingers in his bronze hair. God I love his hair."What are you talking about? You know I always let you be in control…" He said, waggling his eyebrow with a with that fucking smirk! He so doesn't play fair.

"Edward, that's not what I'm talking about and you know it. Did you turn the stove off? All we need is another fire in there." I said, pushing on his chest so we're sitting up.

"Ugh, Bell, you know I turn the damn thing off now. That first time taught me well, clearly." He said, pointing to the small scar above his left eye from where he fought the fire when he left a pot on the stove one night and decided to come find me for a make-out session, like he's doing now.

"Would you rather be homeless because one of us forgot or got distracted,… again…" I asked. Getting off of the bed and going back to the bathroom to finish drying my hair.

"Baby, I'm not that irresponsible now. I at least learn from my mistakes. That has to count for something." He said, coming up behind me and kissing my neck him!

"Edward, please? At least let me get dressed, then I'll go finish dinner. We're suppose to be having our in house date night." I told him, grabbing my brush and trying to untangle my long, brown hair.

"Yeah, but it's so much easier to gain access to you this way." He said, running his hands over my thighs. Granted I'm only in a pair of light blue panties and a matching bra.

I know his game here. He's waiting for me to lose all control and just let him have his way.

_Not tonight fucker_.

I let him do that for a little longer. Dating this long, I've been able to control myself, to an extent. So I know when to stop him before we end up on our bed, completely forgetting that it's our in house date night.

I turned around in his arms and let him kiss more of my neck, and let his hands roam up and down my backside. Then I leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"Edward, if you don't stop, I'm going to cut your balls off and we'll never be able to have children. You wouldn't want to deprive us of that, would you?" Then I stood up on my tiptoes and bit his ear lightly.

"Bells, you don't play fair, baby. Why is it that you have the control of a saint and I always feel like the goddamn fifteen year old who can't even see you touch yourself without losing it?" Edward asked laying his head on my shoulder.

"Because, my love, if you haven't figured it out by now, I know you better than you know yourself. And all of your tricks. But you know I'd never leave you hanging for long. But we ARE having date night, whether you like it or not. Now since you can't seem to get something done about dinner, we're switching. You're doing the movie, I've got dinner." I told him, and ruffled his untamable, bronze hair, then pushed him out of the bathroom.

"I love you." He said, and leaned back into the bathroom to give me one more kiss.

"I love you too, baby. Now go look for a movie. I know it'll take you an hour to decide. You're worse than a woman sometimes." I told him.

"Hey! You're wounding the ego, baby." He said, holding his chest in mock pain.

I shook my head and laughed. "God forbid we damage that already fragile ego. I don't think they can see it in the Caribbean yet though. We're going to have to work on fixing that soon." I teased him, looking around his head, faking like I was trying to see something off about it.

He pouted, "Fine, just for that, we're watching a horror movie tonight." He said, stalking off towards the living room.

"Bring it on baby! See if you get any tonight!" I yelled after him.

"Bellllllll!" He whined.

I couldn't help but bust out laughing at him. He was too cute for his own good. There's no question why I love that man.

This is what we do every week. We have, what we call, 'in house date night'. Where we have a nice dinner and watch a movie and just relax together. Once a month, we go out for our date. It keeps us from going crazy with our lives.

I'm a kindergarten teacher, and he is doing his residency at the hospital here in Seattle. He's working in the ER, as of now, but he wants to open up a clinic of his own, for kids, one day.

Once I finally got dressed, I headed for the kitchen to see what I could make for dinner.

Since chicken was already taken out, I decided to just make one of our favorites: Gumbo.

We both love some good, warm-you-up food.

I walked into the kitchen to get started and stopped when I saw it. There weren't only just pots on the floor. Most of the kitchen appliances were on the floor, along with half of the storage containers.

"EDWAAAARRRRD!" I yelled, trying to figure out where to start.

"Babe, I swear it was Monkey's fault." He said, poking his head out of the bedroom door where I could see him.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." I said, throwing a plastic container down the hall towards him. "Just stay out of my kitchen before you hurt someone."

"You know I'd never do it on purpose!" He yelled back from the bedroom, no doubt still looking through our collection of DVD's for something to watch.

I finally got things back in order and got the chicken started.

Edward had put on some music for us to relax to while dinner was cooking.

While I was standing in the kitchen waiting for the chicken to cook, Edward came in and wrapped his arms around my waist and started swaying to the music. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against his shoulder and moved with him.

"Dance with me Bell." He whispered into my ear.

I turned in his arms and put an arm around his waist and he took the other in his hand. While he kept his other hand on the small of my back.

We slowly danced in the kitchen, listening to the song and how it reflected us.

_I remember what you wore on the first day_  
><em>You came into my life and I thought hey<em>  
><em>you know, this could be something<em>

_'Cause everything you do and words you say_  
><em>You know that it all takes my breath away<em>  
><em>And now I'm left with nothing<em>

_So maybe it's true that I can't live without you_  
><em>And maybe two is better than one<em>  
><em>But there's so much time to figure out the rest of my life<em>  
><em>And you've already got me coming undone<em>  
><em>And I'm thinking two is better than one<em>

_I remember every look upon your face_  
><em>The way you roll your eyes, the way you taste<em>  
><em>You make it hard for breathing<em>

_'Cause when I close my eyes and drift away_  
><em>I think of you and everything's okay<em>  
><em>I'm finally now believing<em>

_That maybe it's true that I can't live without you_  
><em>And maybe two is better than one<em>  
><em>But there's so much time to figure out the rest of my life<em>  
><em>And you've already got me coming undone<em>  
><em>And I'm thinking two is better than one<em>  
><em>Yeah, yeah<em>

_I remember what you wore on the first day_  
><em>You came into my life and I thought, hey<em>

_Maybe it's true that I can't live without you_  
><em>Maybe two is better than one<em>  
><em>There's so much time to figure out the rest of my life<em>  
><em>And you've already got me coming undone<em>

_And I'm thinking, ooh, I can't live without you_  
><em>'Cause, baby, two is better than one<em>  
><em>There's so much time to figure out the rest of my life<em>  
><em>But I figured out with all that's said and done<em>  
><em>Two is better than one, two is better than one<em>

Dancing together like this made me take in the moments we had like this. Where we can just block out the rest of the world and be close to each other. I cherished these moments with him the most. I'd never take them for granted, ever. The song we danced to was a great reminder of how we were together. Life would never be better for us than it was when we're like this.

We've become the other side to each other. We always know what the other is thinking, how the other is feeling. We know the other's signs of distress or nervous habits. You'd think we've been married for twenty years with how well we are attuned to each other. People always tell us we should set an example to people who are considering divorce. And we always have to tell them that we're not married. But I don't doubt that someday we will be. There's no one else for me. Being with him makes is just as easy as breathing. He makes it so easy to just be. We don't have awkward silences when it's quiet. It never has been awkward. It's just comfortable and it flows so easily. I don't know how I got so lucky to end up with him. Being from a small town and growing up with just my dad, I never thought guys were interested in me. I was just the plain-jane girl that played in the mud and went fishing with her daddy.

Then I met Edward when we were in college at UW. We were both seniors and we hit it off from the very beginning.

"Do you remember our first date Bell?" Edward whispered as another song came on.

"Of course I do. How could I forget? The day we first met, you wouldn't let me go without agreeing to meet you after leaving the library, for a date." I told him, laughing into his chest.

He was so persistent that day that I thought he was going to pick me up and carry me off campus whether I said yes or not.

_Flashback_

I was walking across campus one afternoon and I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings. I had a huge stack of books in my hands and I was heading to the library to start work on my final paper for senior year at UW. As I was making my way across the quad, I ran smack-dab into a rock hard wall of man. I thought I was going to end up on my ass in the dress I wore that day. (yes I wore a dress to classes and stuff because it was the most comfortable dress I had. You tell me that a jersey dress isn't comfortable, and I'd have to hurt you. It's like wearing a t-shirt all the way down to your knees, except it's cuter.) But instead of hitting the ground, two arms grabbed onto my own arms, keeping me from falling backwards. That didn't stop half of my books from hitting the ground, but I'll take that over the other any day. Especially when I looked up and was struck with the most perfect shade of emerald green eyes. How in the hell does green get any better than that shade? I was so close to him that I didn't see his whole face yet, but I did see several strands of vibrant bronze hair falling just above his eyes. It was such an amazing mix of hair and eyes that I wasn't sure I'd seen it before. And then he straightened me back up on my feet and I was able to get a better look at him. No wonder it felt like I hit a brick wall. He was solid muscle under his dark grey t-shirt and dark jeans_._

I was so at a loss for words that he just smirked at me.

"Are you ok?" He asked in the most melt-you-to-the-ground voice.

I finally snapped out of it and realized what happened.

"Oh god! I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going and just trying to get things sorted out in my head for my finals paper… and… I'm babbling, aren't I?" I started blushing. This was so embarrassing. He was one of the most gorgeous guys I'd ever seen and I'm standing here babbling away.

He laughed, "Don't worry, it's ok. I'm kind of in the same boat. I'm stuck with my paper for my finals and I just needed to get out of my apartment for a little while and just got lost in people watching that I didn't watch where I was going. So no harm, no foul. I'm Edward by the way." He said, and stuck his hand out to shake.

I took his hand and felt this tingle from the ends of my fingers, going all the way to my toes.

"Bella." I breathed out. I wasn't sure if he heard me, but by the brilliant smile that graced his face, holy shit, I guess he heard me.

He knelt down and gathered my books that fell and stood back up and handed them to me. His fingers grazed mine, and I felt it again. That tingle that just went all through my body. And it felt so good.

"Well, beautiful Bella, would you mind doing me the honor of going out to dinner with me?" He asked, throwing me a beautiful crooked smile.I think I just died and went to heaven.

"Umm, I don't know. I don't usually just go out with random strangers I run into in the quad…" I told him, biting down on my lower lip.

"Pleeeeaaaasssseeeee? I'd really like to get to know you. Then I wouldn't be some 'random stranger you ran into in the quad'." He my god. Yeah, I'm definitely in heaven with that sound. It's so beautiful. How am I suppose to say no to this guy?

"I… uhhh, I'm not sure. I have to get this paper done and then I've got some cleaning to get done in my apartment…" I tried to make an excuse, but I think Edward saw through it.

"You can clean tomorrow. Please come out with me. I'm not going to stop bugging you until you say yes." He was just laying it on. He's too damn smooth for his own good. Wait, is that a bad thing?

"Well… sure. Why not? Umm, can I meet you here after I'm done in the library? It'll take me a couple of hours, but I'm almost done with it. You can give me your number and I can let you know when I'll be done." I really need to stop babbling. He's going to run away thinking I'm a complete idiot.

He smirked and held his hand out for my phone. I handed it to him and he started typing away on it. Then handed it back to me. I heard his phone chirp and I figured he sent himself a text.

He reached for his phone and typed on it as well and then looked up at me and smiled.

"See," He waved his phone at me, "The beautiful Bella is safely tucked away in my phone." He said, then held his hand out for mine again. I took his hand, then he brought it up to his lips and kissed it. His eyes never left mine while he did this. "I'll be waiting beautiful." He released my hand and stepped back. "I'll let you get to your paper. See you soon." Then he turned and walked out of the quad. Also giving me an amazing view of his ass.

_Holy mother of god. I'm in serious trouble here._

An hour and a half later, when I was done with my paper and heading out of the library towards my apartment building, I called the number Edward left on my phone and hoped he would answer. He answered on the second ring.

"_Hello there beautiful."_

My blush heated up my entire face_._

"Hi. Umm, I'm done with my paper. So why don't I go drop my stuff off at my apartment, change, and meet you back in the quad in half an hour?" I asked, hoping he'd be ok with that.

"_You don't need to change. What you were wearing when I saw you was perfect. I was just planning on a walk in the park and grabbing a bite to eat. No need to get fluffed up or whatever it is that girls do_." He said, letting out a chuckle.

"I don't do fluffed up. I'd rather be comfortable that end up killing myself in those deathtraps we call heels. I don't care what people think, I'd rather live." I informed him with a laugh.

He laughed along with me. "_Ahh, a woman after my own heart. Thank god there is at least one of you out there that doesn't care what people think. We're already off to a great start beautiful_." He said, and I could hear the smile through the phone.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well we'll see what you say once you've gotten to know me." I said as I was walking across the street to my apartment.

"_Oh come on. You can't be that bad. You're not a psychotic killer or have a history of violence, do you_?" He asked jokingly.

"Well what if I said I was? What then?" I asked back jokingly.

"_I still think I'd take my chances on you_." He , he was perfect.I was now walking up the stairs in my building and if I was going to meet him, I needed to get off this phone so I can get back in time.

"Ok, well I'm at my door so I better go. And I'll meet you at five in the quad." I told him as I was turning the key in my door."Alright, I'll see you soon beautiful girl." He said, the we said our goodbyes.

I ran in my door and started straightening up stuff and freshening up before I went back to campus.

I washed my face and applied a bit of mascara and then made sure I looked ok. My jersey dress was blue and I loved how it just fit perfectly to me and was amazingly comfortable. (I will admit that I fell asleep in it once because, for one, I was fucking tired and two, it was a laundry day and I was lucky enough that this was what I had left that was comfortable as hell. And then I was studying that night, completely exhausted, and I fell asleep on my bed, not getting up until the next morning. Don't judge me. I love this dress and I'm not ashamed of it. I digress.) I changed out my Converse's for a pair of cute white flats.

I finally looked like I didn't just roll out of bed and spend the whole day studying my ass off. So I locked up my apartment and headed back to the quad.

He was sitting there on one of the retaining walls that housed several trees and plants.

I walked up from the side and it was like he could feel that I was there because he turned an expectant eye in my direction and smiled.

I couldn't help the huge grin that spread over my face when he smiled at me like that. And of course, my blush has to come into play because of that damn smile too. Ugh.

"Hey." I said as I took a seat next to him.

"Hey to you too beautiful. So how did your paper go?" He asked me while we sat there looking at each other.

"It was good. I've been trying to get my final papers out of the way all week. And this was the last one. And I'll finally be done after my actual finals next week. Did you get yours finished?" I asked him.

Edward looked down and had a sheepish look on his face.

"I was too nervous about going out with you that I only got part of it done. But I've almost got it where I can finish it. I've got plenty of time to finish it. I'm more worried about my hands-on exam." He told me.

"What kind of 'hands-on exam'? What the hell is that?" I asked him, trying not to let it turn into something weird in my head.

"Oh, I'm a med student. They have us do a hands-on exam with patients as a final. That, I can't wait for. I love the fact that I can help make someone feel better or save a life. I've always wanted to be a doctor. And I'm finally close enough to it that I can almost taste it." He said, then laughed.

I couldn't help but smile at that. He wants to help people. That's so selfless.

"What kind of doctor do you want to be?" I asked him, genuinely curious.

"Pediatrician. Kids with diseases, more specifically. But if I can't be a disease specialist, I'll be a Pediatrician. I don't care which one. I just want to make sure that I can do whatever I can that a child has the opportunity to grow up and live a full life without the hindrance of being sick in their way. I see sick kids and I wonder what I could do to make sure they're around to be my age, and then for them to get married, have their own kids and see them grow up." He said with a faraway look in his eye.

"You're going to be a wonderful doctor. When you have a passion for it the way you do, there's no doubt that that's what you're suppose to do in life. So I'm guessing this is your last year since you're going to be taking a hands-on exam?" I asked.

He jumped off the wall and grabbed my hand and pulled me off too and we started walking towards the park.

"Yeah, it's my last year. Graduation can't come fast enough." He said, laughing.

"I know what you mean. My dad keeps calling me, making sure of the date, that I'm sure I'm graduating, whether he needs to find a hotel while he's here since it's suppose to be later in the day. Bah! He's worse than a woman sometimes." I said with a frustrated laugh. I love my dad, but he can seriously take it over the edge when it comes to my graduating. He's not normally this keyed up, but me being his only daughter, he feels the need to make sure that everything is right.

Edward laughed, god how beautiful that laugh is. And I noticed he still had my hand in his. And I found that I didn't really mind it so much. "At least he's thorough. So what's your major? What do you want to do with your life, beautiful?" Damn it he needs to stop that shit! I'm going to end up as a puddle of goo on the ground before we even eat.

"My major is elementary education. I want to be a teacher. I love the feeling of being able to mold the minds of kids at such a young age before they go off to new adventures. I want to be the one that gets them ready to face to world without fear or trepidation. Kids at a young age are so impressionable and I want to set them on the right path for a great future." I told him, and I knew the smile was plastered clear across my face.

"Wow. It's nice to meet someone who shares that feeling to nurture kids." He said, and squeezed my hand.

"It's just something I've wanted to do since I was a kid. I've always loved kids and they're so much fun at that age. And I can see how you being a doctor would have the same effect on them. You're looking out for their future." I told him as we were walking through the flowering path.

"Actually, that's the simplest way of putting it. I like it." He laughed and I joined him.

"So where are you from anyways?" He asked.

"I'm from a small town a few hours away from here called Forks. It's population is only about three thousand people, if you can believe that. But I grew up there. When my mom left, I stayed with my dad. He's the chief of police there. Charlie's always been a really at ease kind of dad for him being a cop. I guess that can be attributed to me being the 'good girl'." I rolled my eyes. "But it's not like I would've gone around smoking pot, and drinking and driving and partying anyways. My dad knows me well enough to know when I would have been falling on my ass drunk one night. I could never hide anything from him.

But I did hang out and whatever. It's not like I was a goody-two-shoes or anything. But I knew my limits and I knew I didn't want to disappoint my dad. So I made sure I stayed out of trouble… I'm babbling again, aren't I?" I asked nervously with a laugh.

He laughed too. "No, you're not babbling. I like to know about you. This is why we're doing this, so we can get to know each other. Don't feel bad though. I wasn't really the biggest partier when I was in high school, either. But then again, when you come to college, some of that fades away. It did a little for me. I didn't party a lot when I came here but I did go to a few. I knew I had to focus on school if I wanted to be a doctor, but you have to join in at some point, right?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I wouldn't go to any my first year. But then I became a little more comfortable with the people here and my friend, Angela, made me go to one of the parties at the KD house. I'm a wuss, go on, say it." I said, laughing.

"No, you're not a wuss. You don't seem like the big party girl on campus. It's not a bad thing. You also don't seem like the kind that would be the skanky, slutty girl that throws themselves at guys. So I already like you on that basis alone." Edward said.

"Yeah, I'd rather get my hands on one of those girls and smack em one good time for not having any self respect. But that's just me. I don't see the appeal in throwing yourself at a guy. I know some guys like that shit, but that would just seem that they're a little shallow to me. A guy that likes that can't possibly have a high regard for the girl, then puts themselves down for not being able to see past all that shit to find the substance in a woman. I really need to shut up." I buried my face in my free hand.

"Hey, no. Don't do that shit." He pulled my hand away from my face and held both in his. "That just makes you a real woman. You'd be surprised how few women you'd come across that are no-nonsense and have an outlook on life that beats the band. That makes you more appealing to the masses. Certainly more appealing to me. I'd ask you to marry me now if it wouldn't scare you away. But I won't do that. Yet, anyways." I gasped, and he laughed at my reaction. "I'll take it slow. I promise."

I couldn't help but smile at him. No man has ever thought that highly of me. And certainly has never wanted to marry me because I was a 'no bullshit' kind of person. It's shocking that a guy could consider me that 'appealing', even this soon.

"Don't freak out on me, beautiful. But I've never met someone that can be that straight-forward about shit. I can't wait to hear what else comes out of that mouth of yours. So tell me more about the beautiful Bella." We walked around the park for a while longer just talking and laughing and learning so much about each other. It astounds me how much fun we had together. I've never just hung out and been this comfortable with a guy before. Edward really put all my nerves at ease. It was easily something I could get used to.

"So how about we hit this little Italian place that's right down the street? It's got pretty good food. You game?" He asked with a twinkle in his eye. We were just coming to the entrance of the park and I was in no hurry for this date, or whatever it was, to end. I wanted to just talk to him as long as I possibly could.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me. I was really craving Italian, so that's actually perfect." I squeezed his hand, seeing as how we were still holding each others hand.

So we walked about a mile up the road and came up to a little restaurant called 'La Bella Italiana'. We walked up the stairs and he held the door open for me and ushered me inside. It was a cute, quaint place. I love places like this. It's not quite a hole-in-the-wall type of place, but it's not like the chain restaurant kind of place either.

He led us over to where the hostess was and I couldn't help but notice the skanky girl there eye fucking Edward.

"Hi, two please." Edward said to her while she continued to stare at him. She made no move to take us to a table and I'd just about had enough of this shit.

"Back off slut-bag!" I hissed at her.

She snapped her eyes to me and gave me kind of a glare that I just shot right back at her.

And then I heard Edward snicker beside me. I glanced at him and saw his eyes dancing with amusement and amazement.

"Don't give me that shit. I'm not the one eye fucking you when I'm suppose to be doing a job." I semi-snapped. I'm sorry but I'm beyond irritated with this girl. I'm not sure why it bugs me so much other than the principle of it.

"I'm sorry, but that was so fucking hot. Can you do it again?" He grinned at , wait. What just happened?

"Uhh, do what?" I asked, still wondering what the hell was going on with me.

He laughed again. "Go completely possessive and put someone in their place. That was awesome."

"Huh? I just told her to back her ass off and do her damn job." I asked him, a little confused as to why he was so interested by it. "What the hell else am I suppose to do when we're on a date and some woman is eye-fucking you?"

"I've just never had a girl step up like that and speak her mind about shit. It's freaking hot as hell." He explained with a … Huh?

I decided to drop it for now. I can't think about shit like that right now.

The 'slut-bag', as I have come to call her now, led us to a table in the back. Edward pulled out my chair for me, which I had to smile at. I have never had a guy do that for me before.

And as Edward took his seat, the 'slut-bag' handed us our menus and scurried off.

"I think you scared the hell out of her." He snickered.

"Well she should do her job and not ogle my man." As the words left my lips, I had to slap my hand over my mouth. Where the fuck did that come from?Edward started choking on his water and had to drink some more to clear it.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know where the hell that. I didn't mean it. I just don't find it… what?" I tried to explain but his bright smile stopped me.

"You completely amaze me. And I really don't mind you calling me 'your man'. I hope we can start down that road though. I would really like that." He said very hopefully.

Our waiter came over and took our order. I got the mushroom ravioli, and Edward got the chicken parmesan.

"I don't think I understand what amazes you but… thank you?" I said, not sure why the hell I'm so fascinating to him.

"There's just no one else out there like you, Bella. You are so motivated to work with kids, you speak up when someone's eye-fucking 'your man'," he laughed, "You don't even realized how much of an enigma you are. And you ARE a complete mystery. I just don't know what to make of you. I really want to get to know you better so I can figure it out. You completely intrigue me." He said, and he was totally serious.

Our waiter brought our food out, and he seriously eyed me like a piece of meat. that just disgusted me to no end.

"Back away fuckwit." I hissed at him.

He became very flustered and ran off back to the kitchen.

_Now back to my mind's ramblings_.

How am I in any way intriguing, a mystery or anything like that. I'm just a student learning to become a teacher, I read all the time, I'm not the 'party-girl', I'm from a small town with a police chief father, and I don't take shit from anyone. What's so fascinating about that? Did I miss something?

"Are you sure we're talking about the same person here? I'm just a plain, small town girl. There's nothing interesting about me…" I started to explain but he cut me off.

"Bella, you have this quality about you that leaves me dumbfounded. You're so real. Even just now with that waiter. No other girl would just totally give him what he deserved. You're not like these other girls. They're all so plastic and fake and have absolutely no substance. You can hold your own, keep a conversation… you're just so easy to be around." Umm, ok. WOW.

I don't even know what to say to that.

"You're pretty easy to be around, yourself. I haven't really had the best track record with being able to talk to guys. You're the first one that actually seems to not mind my blundering, babbling antics. You don't seem to care if I make an ass of myself… I'm just the laidback, t-shirt, jeans and sneakers wearing girl that wants to graduate college and teach kids so they can take on the world themselves. How is that appealing to you?" I had to ask.

"You really don't see yourself clearly, do you? You pretty much just summed it up for me. You're that wholesome girl that doesn't care if people see her wearing tees and jeans and Converse. You're 'babbling antics', as you put it, are an endearing quality. I find it to be cute and sweet. You don't find girls that often that are humble, sweet, caring, possessive, ballsy, laidback, and absolutely beautiful all wrapped up in one fucking amazing package." Well I've never heard it put quite that way before, but ok.

"Wow. Umm, I don't know what to say to that, except thank you. I've never had a guy say anything like that about me." I told him, keeping my gaze down on my food.

"Hey" he said, trying to get me to look at him. "Any other guy is a complete and utter fucking moron to not see how amazing you are." Can I marry him now? Whoa, holy hell.

_Did I seriously just think that?_

"You're beyond the sweetest guy I've ever met. You know what to say to make me feel good. And you are more attentive than I've ever seen someone. My dad even spaces out on me when I talk to him. But I don't know what you're doing with me. You're look like a sex god, you're smooth, you want to take care of kids. Is there a flaw in you anywhere?"

I had to ask. That was going to bug me if I didn't know.

He was smirking at me again with a mischievous glint in his eye.

_Wait, what did I say for him to look at me like that?_

_"_What?"

"You said I look like a sex god?" he said with a bit of humor in his voice.

"Oh Christ." I seriously have no filter around this guy anymore. "I'm sorry. I need to find my brain to mouth filter and have it readjusted, or replaced, because I have literally no control of what I say around you…" I trailed off.

"No, really, it may be nice to hear, but I don't think of myself that way. Yeah, I work to stay in shape, but I don't try to portray the 'sex god' thing…" I had to cut him off there.

"No, it's not just your body. It's your chiseled jaw, that perfectly straight nose, that crooked smile, the smirk, those vibrant green eyes, that crazy fucking hair that I don't know if I want to brush or run my fingers through it." SHIT.

I slapped my hand over my mouth again.

_Must I always do that?_

_"_Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it…" I muttered under my breathe_._

I heard him chuckle on the other side of the table. I looked up at him and saw a light in his eyes that just glowed with admiration and something else I'm not sure of.

"I really like you. You are beyond interesting. I want to talk to you all the time now." He was still fucking glowing!

"Why, so I can make more of an ass of myself?"

The waiter came back to give us the check, which Edward quickly took before I could.

"I'm paying, beautiful. I asked you out, I get to pay. What kind of gentleman would I be if I made my woman pay?" He grinned at cue the obviously embarrassing blush.

"You know, I really love that. Your blush. And no, to answer your question. And I don't think you make an ass of yourself. You simply just have your moments. Everyone does. Yours are just charming and endearing."

We walked out of the restaurant and started walking back, hand in hand, towards the apartments that are just off of campus. Mine was coming up soon, but I really didn't want this evening to end.

"I'm right up here on the next corner."

He looked up at my building and seemed to be contemplating something.

"You know, you only a block away from me. How have we never run into each other before now?" He asked.

"I really don't know. I've lived in this building for about two years. What about you?" I asked him when we stopped in front of my building.

"Four years in mine. I'm two buildings down that way." He pointed down the street that goes parallel to my building. "Maybe I can call you and see if you want to go out again.?" He asked with so much hope in his eyes.

I smiled at him, because really, you can't help but smile at him when he's like this. "I'd love to. I'm going home for a little while after graduation, but I'll be back before July to get the rest of my things packed up and look for a new apartment. So maybe we can do it before we graduate."

"Yeah, absolutely. I hope I get to see a few times before you're gone. So you're planning on staying in Seattle, right?" He asked, very hopeful.

The smile that has stayed on my face grew. "That sounds great. Yeah, I'm planning on staying here. I've got a job offer at a school nearby actually. And my lease is up at the end of June. I'm still looking for a place but maybe I can find something that's not that far away from the school. But I'll be gone for almost two weeks."

"Well if you can't find anything, I've got an extra room. Just in case. I don't want to pressure you at all, but I don't have a problem letting you have that room. It'd be nice to have a roommate though. I've had that apartment to myself for the past four years. It's kind of boring being there alone all the time. But the offer is on the table if you need it. I'm not going to let you not have somewhere to go when you're lease is up. You have an open invitation if you ever want it." He grew almost serious. It was so sweet of him to offer me his extra room after only knowing me for a day. Yeah, it may be quick, but if I can't find something when I come back from my dad's, then hell yeah I'll take him up on it. He really makes me feel safe and always so… adored almost. It's a nice change from what I'm used to.

I looked down to hide my blush when I answered him. "That's actually really great of you. I've got a few places to look at but it's nice to know I'm not going to be homeless if I can't find something that's right. I mean, are you totally sure about this? I don't want to just come waltzing into your apartment like I own it and make you uncomfortable or anything…" I started.

"Hold it. There's no way that you could ever make me feel uncomfortable…" he went on.

"I highly doubt that." I muttered.

"So what would you think would make me uncomfortable? Hmm?" He asked, trying to make his point. But I was going to make a point, myself.

"Would you go to the store and buy tampons for me?" I asked in all seriousness.

The look of shock on his face gave him away, but he quickly recovered.

"I think I could handle that. I mean, what guy wouldn't be self-conscious about buying those? But, for you, I think I could do it."

Wow. I'd really have to consider that if he's willing. Most guys will go running from the room screaming if you asked them to do that. Edward seems to be the kind of guy that wouldn't leave you hanging. I don't know why, but I grabbed his face with both of my hands, and looked in his eyes, then gave him a chaste kiss. His lips were so freaking soft and warm and… just so perfect. I felt an energy surge between us in that kiss that had my stomach flipping all over the place. When I pulled back, I saw a look of shock on his face that soon turned into the biggest smile. With his hands on my hips, he then leaned back in and gave me another sweet kiss.

"Not that I'm complaining in the least, but can I ask what that was for?" He asked, the smile never leaving his face.

"Actually, I'm not sure." I laughed. "I don't know a guy that would even consider doing something like that for me. And the fact that you said you would just meant a lot. And the offer of the extra room means so much to me too. And I will definitely consider it. Thank you so much. I had an absolutely great time tonight. I'm really looking forward to seeing you again."

"You're very welcome. I'd be happy to have you there. I told you, you're an amazing girl and I can't wait to get to know you more. I had an awesome time with you too. Will you call me later?" He asked, throwing in one of his , how am I suppose to ever say no to this man?

"Of course I will. I hate to go, but I have to get up for a class tomorrow. So…" I gave him one more kiss, "Goodnight Edward."

"Goodnight Bella."

I then walked into my building and turned back around towards the front door to see him still looking after me until I was out of sight.

That night, I tossed and turned, not being able to sleep because I was thinking about Edward and that kiss. It was so perfect and natural. I don't think I've ever met a man like him. I finally drifted off that night with incredible dreams of Edward.

After that first date, we went out a few more times before graduation. Some nights we'd go out to dinner again with a movie thrown in, other nights we'd just hang out at one of our places for hours and hours. We went out together the night before I left to go back home for two weeks, and ended up having a make-out session for two and a half hours on his couch.

We talked every single day when I went back home to Forks. But unfortunately, he ended up having to come to Forks to be with me when my dad got shot in the line of duty while I was home. Charlie had lost too much blood and his heart ended up giving out. Edward stayed with me the entire time. He never left my side while I made the arrangements, during the funeral, packing up things, and then putting the house up on the market. It was the hardest thing I'd ever gone through in my entire life. Even when my mom left. I was never going to see my dad again, or go fishing with him. He never even got to meet Edward. Even though Edward stayed in the hospital with me, Charlie never woke up enough to see him.

One of the days we were in the house packing up everything, Edward pretty much gave me some solace with what he said.

"Bell, I want you to move in with me. I know you haven't had time to think about anything back in Seattle since this happened, and I don't want you to be all alone in an apartment right now. It's almost the end of the month and you have to be out of your place by then. Even if you want to find another place later on, you can. But I just can't leave you alone to deal with this by yourself."

I thought about what he said, and he was right. I haven't even thought about looking for a place since I got the call that Charlie was shot. And I really like being around Edward, and he's been so amazingly supportive these last couple of weeks. He knows exactly how to comfort me and when to just let me have some time to myself. He's been right there whenever I've completely fallen apart and he's helped me pick up all of the pieces. I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank him enough for how much I appreciate all he's done for me. He's pretty much been living here with me in dad's house and we've had absolutely no problems. So why not? He's right, I don't need to be alone right now, and I really don't want to be either. He's such a comfort to be around and I can't think of another place I'd want to be right now.

"Ok." I whispered.

He leaned in and kissed my forehead and rubbed my back.

"You'll get through this sweetheart. I promise. I'll always be there for you."

A tear spilled down my cheek from his words. Like I said, he always knows how to comfort me.

"I don't know if I've said it before… but thank you so much for being here with me. I don't know what I would have done without you through all of this."

"You don't have to thank me, Bell. You're more important right now. I would never leave you to deal with this on your own."

So when we went back to Seattle, I moved all of my stuff into Edward's apartment and never even thought of looking for another place.

_End of Flashback_

"You're just lucky I was so smitten with you from that first day. Thank God we ran into each other like that. I wasn't paying attention at all that day and if you hadn't knocked my books out of my hands, I don't know if we would have ever met." I said, turning around to check on the food.

"Oh I have no doubt we would have eventually met. I don't think I could have gone through life not knowing you were out there. It wouldn't have been fair." He said, jumping up on the counter beside the stove.

"Yeah but if it hadn't have been then, I don't know what I would have done. You were there for me through the hardest time of my life and I still can't thank you enough." I leaned in and kissed him sweetly. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, my beautiful."

We finally sat down to dinner and did our normal thing. We talked, fed each other, stole kisses. We were mushy but we didn't care. It's just how we've always been. Neither of us had it in us to ever hide how we felt about each other. Especially being roommates through the whole thing. When one of us was pissed, the other surely knew. And if it was at each other, we knew we had to talk it out because living under the same roof when you're both mad can end up bad. We learned that one day when I started throwing things and threatened to move out. I didn't know if I could actually do it but once we stopped and finally talked, I realized just how much I wanted to be with him. It didn't matter if we disagreed on things. Couples disagree all the time. Our motto has always been 'if it's easy enough to fight about, it's just as easy to talk it out.' Cheesy, I know. But it helps in the best ways.

After dinner, we settled into the couch and turned on the movie. Of course he went with _Nightmare on Elm Street_.

_Asswipe_.

I should know better than to think he wouldn't do it. But the problem is whether I'm going to withhold sex or not.

_Hmmmm….. Decisions, decisions_.

Of course it doesn't help when he starts kissing behind my ear. He knows that's my weakness.

I let him carry back to our bedroom where he gently laid me down on the bed.

He kissed down my jaw and collarbones, all the way to the swells of my breasts at the top of my shirt, where he lapped across the hemline.

He peered up at my eyes and his looked like they were on fire. That deep green that always took my breathe away was somehow magnified.

"Bell, do you have any clue how much I want you? How much I crave you?"

"I'm pretty sure I have an idea…" I reached down and rubbed my hand over his erection, through his jeans. "But, I could be wrong…"

"Uhhhnn." He moaned, then dropped his head to my shoulder. "Bell, baby, I'm gonna lose my load if you keep that up. I want to be inside of you when that happens." the muffled sound coming from him burying his face in my shoulder was too cute.

"Aww, my poor baby." I cooed at him. "I know you have a quick recovery time." I smiled at him. "Ares should be just fine." I patted his erection. (That I named by the way)

"Woman, you are pure evil." He groaned. "And I still can't believe you named my junk." He said, as he started his assault on my neck.

I had named his penis after the god of war. I'm not sure why, but one night we were going at it kind of rough, and I guess that's how it came to me that his peen was strong, and ready for anything at anytime.

_So my logic was in a sex haze. Sue me_.

"Mmmm" I moaned as he worked his way down my stomach over my shirt. When he reached the bottom, he grabbed the hem of it and tugged it up over my head. Then he grabbed his own and pulled it over his head. Then went down to his jeans and unbuttoned them and pulled them down, along with his boxers.

The sight of his beautiful cock always left me breathless. And the size… hmmm… absolutely perfect.

He reached for my jeans and unbuttoned them and slid the zipper down at a snail's pace.

_I may have growled a little bit_.

"Patience my beautiful." He said in a hushed voice.

_I guess I did. Oh well_.

"You of all people should know I'm not a patient person when it comes to sex with you. You know I want you all the time." I managed to get all of that out in shuddering breathes as he slid my jeans down my legs, while drawing a line with his nose down the inside of my thigh.

When he came back up to eye level, I was breathing heavily. And I could feel him harden further against me.

"Edward… touch me." I breathed out.

I could feel how wet I was getting between my thighs and I was looking for any sort of contact I could find.

He slowly traced his fingers down my stomach, to the top of my thigh and then around to the back of it. He was drawing his own pattern on my legs, and not going where I was desperate for him to be.

"You fucker…" I grumbled under my breath. "Edward, if you don't fucking touch me, I'm going to find the handcuffs and tie you to the bed and have my way with you anyway I can think of."

His head snapped up so fast, I thought I was going to fly off. His eyes had darkened severely and I was reconsidering retracting my previous statement. Because that would only delay me further. _Shit_.

He got a contemplative look on his face as he thought about what I said.

"Hmmmm, that sounds more than appealing to me right now… Where did you say you left the handcuffs?" He asked with that mischievous look on his face.

"Edward, I swear on everything that's holy that if you don't get your ass in gear, I'm never having sex with you again."

"Oh, well when you put it like that…"

He finally slid two fingers over my slit and I moaned like a fucking porn what would you do when you're deprived of those gorgeous fingers?… That's what I thought.

He took my left nipple into his mouth and suckled and licked it, then pulled back and blew air onto it to make it harden even further.

God, I love it when he does that.

He then repeated the action with my right nipple, and I arched my back up towards him.

Suddenly his fingers were gone, only to be replaced with the tip of his cock, which he rub up and down my slit, spreading my juices all over him.

"God,… Edward, I love it when you do that." It feels so fantastic when he does that, but I want him inside.

He finally slid inside of me, making me feel complete. When we were connected like this, it was so perfect. We fit so well together that sometimes we didn't know where one of us stopped and the other began.

"Oh god, Bell! You always feel so fucking amazing. Wrap your legs around my waist, baby."

I complied and felt him go even deeper into me. And it made my eyes roll back, it was so good. I dug my heels into his ass to get as close as possible.

He started a slow pace, going in and out of me. It was sweet, and sensual to start out with.

"Uhhnn, Edward, right there!" I moaned into his ear.

"Where beautiful? Right here?" He thrust so deep into me, and at the right angle, that my toes curled.

"OH FUCK, Edward" I almost shouted.

He started to quicken his pace, and I could tell he was starting to get close.

I was already at the edge and he was quickly pushing me over the cliff.

He brought his hand down between us and rubbed my clit with his thumb.

"Look at that baby." He whispered through his thrusts, looking down between us where we were connected.

I looked down and was so fucking turned on seeing him disappear inside of me. That sent me flying over the cliff so hard, and I threw my head back into the pillow.

"OHMYFUCKINGGOD!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as my orgasm took over, while he still pumped into me. It literally felt like I was flying, or taking the plunge down a giant rollercoaster. Or probably what I would think the thrill of skydiving would be like, free-falling to earth.

I could already feel myself building up again, and I didn't know if I could take another hit that strong again.

"Come on baby, I know you're getting close again. Cum for me beautiful."

He thrust one more time and I was gone. And apparently so was he with the string of cuss words leaving his mouth.

"OH Shit!" I yelled.

"JESUS!FUCK!SHIT!MOTHERFUCKER!DAMNIT!HOLYHELL!" Yeah that happens every now and then…

Once both of us could actually breathe normally, he pulled out of me and curled up behind me, spooning me, and kissing my neck and ear.

"I love you more than life itself Bells."

"I love you too. So fucking much. I don't know what I'd ever do without you."

"You'll never have to find out." He whispered and gave me a final kiss before we both fell asleep.

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><p>Reviews are like love, and they in turn get you more Edward and Bella. Let me hear ya!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Hey peeps! Alright, here's chapter 2. Hope y'all like it.

Yes this one's a little shorter, but we're going to roll with it. i may try to update sooner since this one and the next are short, soooooo we'll see:)

Once again, beta'd by my lola (LaurieWhitlock)

Disclaimer: And of course, I don't own Twilight. SM does. And we all love her

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

BPOV

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.

I think I'm going to puke.

Well I have been puking, but that's beside the point.

I've been worrying the past two days about how we're going to deal this. I didn't think we had slipped up anytime, but apparently we did.

I mean, we both love them. So why am I freaking out?

_Maybe because you just found out two days ago that you're carrying his child and neither of you have really thought about seriously having kids this soon…_

Ugh, really? My inner voice is being a smart ass right now when I'm trying to figure out how to tell him we're going to have a baby? That's just gravy.

_Yeah but you know it's true._

Shut up!

I sighed. I'll find a way to tell him sometime tonight.

Tonight we're going on our monthly date, out. We look forward to this every month. We always go back to La Bella Italiana. It's where it all started for us. We want to keep up the tradition for as long as we possibly can.

It's Thursday night, which is always our normal night for our date.

_I really need to tell him tonight. I don't know how I haven't spilled the beans yet to him._

I left school to go home and get ready when I got a text from Edward.

**Where your favorite black dress tonight. I love you in that dress;) ~E**

Ah yes. The favorite little black dress.

It was a halter dress that went down almost to my knees. It has a white band under the bust with a white bow, with long ends where it flowed. The dress moved so well, and was absolutely comfortable. (not as comfortable as my jersey dress that I first went out with Edward in, but still. It's awesome as hell.I really miss that blue jersey dress though_. NOTE TO SELF: go find another jersey dress. They are the shit.)_

Anyways, when I got home, I went searching for my dress. I found it in the back of my closet. Then I dug through my shoes to find something that would work with it. I was thinking about my black three inch wedges that had the white trim.

Once I found those, I ran to the bathroom and quickly showered. I was going to leave my hair down in loose curls so I just let it air dry.

I was in front of the mirror in the bathroom when I heard the door to our apartment open and shut.

"Hey Bell, I'm home babe."

"Bathroom!" I yelled out to him.

"Hey beautiful." He came in wearing his scrubs and his rectangular, black, wire rimmed glasses, and kissed my cheek. "How were the kiddies today?"

I had to laugh. "Well they were their normal, rowdy selves. But I guess it's just how they are for the first month or two. When they first start school, they're shy for about a week or two, and then when they make friends, they're off the walls. I think they'll calm down soon though. How was the hospital?"

He sighed and rested his head on my shoulder. "We had a guy come in that fell from his second floor window and landed on a pile of yard tools and broke several bones and had a rake puncture his lung. We had to work to keep him alive, but we repaired his lung as best we could and he's stable. This is why I wanted to be a Pediatrician. I'd much rather be dealing with sick kids than repairing a lung… That's why I'm hoping this offer will come through and I can get out of the ER and go work at that children's hospital in town…" He trailed off, and it took me a second to understand what he was saying.

I looked up at his reflection in the mirror. "Wait, what? Are you serious? You're actually going to be able to go work with kids?" I asked trying to cover up exactly how excited I was that he was finally getting to do what he's dreamed of doing.

"Yep." He smiled. "The chief of staff over there came by the ER today and talked to me. Since I'd been asking around since we graduated about a position as a Pediatrician or kid's disease specialist, he thought he'd come and talk to me and see if I was still interested. There's a doctor transferring to LA and that left an opening for a Pediatrician. So, I'm going in next week to talk to him further and see the facility and where I would be working and all. I'm really excited about this Bell. I've been waiting for two years for something like this and I finally have an opening to go for it. I hope you're going to back me up with this."

I turned around in his arms quickly and cupped his cheeks with my hands.

"Are you insane? Of course I'm going to back up your decision to do this. This is your dream. I'm not going to stop you from doing something that you love. Your wanting to work with kids was part of the reason I fell in love with you. It's your passion, the reason you became a doctor in the first place."

"I just want to make sure because this affects you too. I'm not going to do anything without your ok." He said, then kissed me sweetly.

"I wouldn't want anything else for you. I can't believe you're finally going to be working with kids. I'm so happy for you baby."

"I'm glad we're already going out for our date night because we're going to celebrate tonight. And I think going to our favorite place is the perfect way to celebrate."

"Good." I kissed him quickly. "Now let me finish getting dressed so we can go… Hold the phone… Is that why you told me to wear my black dress?"

He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. I just want it to be special tonight."

I smiled back at him. "Alright. You go get ready too. I'm almost done and we can leave in twenty minutes."

He pulled me to him and kissed me deeply. "I love you so much." He said in between kisses.

"I love you too baby." I reached out and smacked his ass. "Now go on or we're never getting out of here. I'm starving."

"Ok. I'm going, I'm going."

We pulled up to the restaurant and Edward walked around the car to open my door for me, and held his hand out for me to take.

When he ushered me inside, we were seated by the window that looked out over the garden area that the restaurant had out back.

"I've always loved the flowers that 'Mama Russo' keeps up with. It's nice that she shares her garden with the restaurant goers." I observed.

'Mama Russo', as she likes to be called sometimes, lives next to the restaurant, that she owns, and has a garden between it and her home. She allows the patrons to go out into her garden and enjoy the flowers when they're here. It's part of the draw to this place that I didn't know about before the first time we came here. It was very romantic with the white twinkling lights that she added around the area so you could see at night. It was so romantic.

"I know what you mean. We've had many nights of strolling around that garden. She's so gracious letting us out there to enjoy it."

Our waiter came over and took our order and Edward made sure he brought out their best wine. And I ordered a water too.

The doctor told me about alcohol consumption, and said I could have a little wine, but I think I'm going to stick with the water as much as I can. At least until I tell him about the baby.

When the wine came out, Edward made a toast.

"To all of our dreams coming true… All of them." He said, looking deeply into my eyes.

Wow. I feel a double meaning somewhere in there. I guess some of that's on my side too since I haven't told him about something too.

"To all of our dreams coming true." I agreed, and took a sip of the wine.

When our food came out, I dug in because I wasn't lying when I said I was starving. I skipped lunch today, trying to get some grading done so I didn't have to worry about it tonight. And the fact that I'm eating for two now makes me feel like I could eat just about anything.

Edward grabbed my hand when we were done with our entrees, and led me outside to the garden, like we do almost every other time we come here.

We walked around out there for a while and were about to go back inside for dessert when he stopped me.

He turned me around to look at him and he had a serious look in his eyes.

"Bell… We've been together for two years now and I've never been happier than I am with you. You've made my life worth living. I wouldn't know how to live if you were ever gone. We've become the other half to each other. So… I want to ask you to do something for me…" he trailed off.

Then he got down on one knee and dug in his pocket, and brought out a jewelry box.

"Oh shit…" I said under my breath.

I had to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill over.

_Goddamn hormones!_

He looked back up into my eyes and I saw everything in his beautiful green ones.

_Love_

_Devotion_

_Happiness_

_Desire_

_Adoration_

_Hope_

"Isabella Marie Swan, will you do me the extraordinary honor of marrying me? Will you be the future Mrs. Edward Masen?"

The tears I was holding at bay came spilling over like a damn had burst.

"YES! Yes, of course I'll be your wife." I threw myself at him, almost knocking him to the ground.

He started kissing me all over my face and chanting 'I love you, I love you, I love you'.

When I finally saw the ring, it was so perfect. It was a white gold band with a bezel set diamond in the middle, and two smaller bezel set pearls and sapphires, one on each side of the diamond.

_Our birthstones._

"I had this made for you, beautiful. Nothing I ever looked at seemed right. So I thought about it and I wanted something unique for you. So I had a ring made with each of our birthstones and then the traditional diamond. I hope you like it."

_Was he serious? How could I not?_

"Edward, it's absolutely perfect. I've never seen anything so beautiful before… I love you so much Edward." I hugged him again as tightly as I could. I never wanted to let him go.

When he pulled back, he took the ring out of the box and held it up for me to see.

"Look on the inside."

I looked and saw an engraving on the inside of the band.

'_I live because of you'_

_Holy fucking shit. He really is perfect._

"Oh my God, Edward."

The damn burst again and I couldn't stop the tears. He couldn't have gotten a more perfect ring for me.

He stood up and wiped away my tears and cupped my face.

"It's the truth. I couldn't live without you Bells." He placed the ring on my left hand and kissed it, then kissed my lips.

I couldn't help but throw my arms around his neck. It was now or never. I had to tell him since we were laying our hearts out there on the line.

"Our child will love you just as much as I do…" I trailed off, hoping he'd pick up on it.

He pulled back and looked at me, with a confused look on his face. Then realization dawned on him.

"Oh. Dear. Lord… Are you sure?"

I wasn't sure whether he was happy about this or not. So all I could do was nod.

The smile that spread across his face, could have split it in half. He wrapped his arms around my waist and picked me up and twirled me around, kissing anywhere he could reach.

"Oh my God, beautiful! We're going to have a baby!" He yelled into the sky.

I couldn't help but giggle at his enthusiasm. I didn't want to let him go at that moment. I wanted to stay that way for the rest of the night just basking in all of this.

"Come on beautiful. I want to dance with my future wife and mother of my child." he smiled at me.

I was grinning ear to ear, but nodded and we walked back inside. He walked us over to the jukebox and looked for a song for us to dance to. He obviously found what he was looking for because he pulled me towards the little dance area.

"Everyone, I'd like to make an announcement!" He was not doing this to me.

"This beautiful woman right here," He pointed over to me, and I blushed fifty shades of red. "Has just made me the happiest man in the world. Not only did she agree to marry me, but she just told me that she is carrying our child." He beamed at me, then the crowd in the restaurant erupted into cheers and applause.

'At Last' came on over the speakers, and Edward pulled me into his arms and kissed me as we started dancing.

I can't believe all of this is happening. Edward is getting his dream job, he asked me to marry him, and we're going to have a baby.

_We're going to be a family._

Edward had his face buried in my hair, and mine was buried in his chest and I couldn't be happier in this moment. He was right, all of our dreams were coming true.

After our dance, we sat down and had our dessert to continue celebrating.

_Chocolate cheesecake seriously hit's the spot when you're pregnant._

When we left, Edward wanted to go for a walk down by the piers. So we drove that way and took in the sights of ships coming in and out, and then went down to where we could walk along the water.

"When did you find out?" He asked as we stood looking at the water. He was standing behind me with his arms wrapped around my waist and his hands covering my belly, over our child.

"It was Friday when I first noticed something. I was a few days late already and you know I hadn't been feeling well, and I put two and two together. The puking in the morning the other day tipped me off. So I went to the doctor Tuesday, and she told me I was pregnant."

"How far along are you? It can't be that that far if you just noticed last week, right?" He asked.

"Right at a month. From what we could figure out, it was probably the night of my birthday, last month. So roughly, June thirteenth is what we're looking at as the due date. Are you up for this? I'm going to be hormonal, bitchy, having the worst cravings possible. I'm going to be crying over absolutely nothing, getting fat, and Lord only knows what else." I laughed at his expression. And he hesitated a little bit.

"…You mean worse then you are when you're PMSing?"

"Oh my god, Edward." I slapped his shoulder. "I am not that bad then."

"Yeah sure." He said under his breath.

"You seriously want me to start with the fucking hormonal mood swings right now? Because I will without hesitation." I was seriously going to hurt him if he was going to ruin this night.

"I'm sorry beautiful. I didn't mean it. You know I love you no matter what. Even when you're curled up on the sofa in your pajamas, glasses on, messy bun, and making me go to the store for tampons, like I promised to do."

"You have no idea how much I love you for doing that for me too. You truly are the best." I turned and kissed him.

"Come on, Bell. Let's get you home so you can get some sleep. You need to keep your strength up for our little one." He kissed my temple and led me back to the car.

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><p>Reviews are like love for me:)<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Hey my peeps! alright, here's chapter 3. We're starting to get into the nitty gritty here.

Warning: grab a tissue :'(

Beta'd by LaurieWhitlock (Grazie mia sorella)

This chapter is for Carla and David. We miss you guys every day.

Disclaimer- Sadly, Twilight is still not mine. just this story line.

Catch y'all on the flip side.

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

EPOV

I can't believe my life has turned out this way.

Who would have thought two years ago that I would be getting married, having a child with my fiancée, and getting the job that I have dreamt about having since I was in high school?

I prayed and prayed that she would say yes tonight. I didn't doubt that she would accept my proposal, but my Bella has done stranger things in the past. So I wouldn't have put it past her to make me work for it.

But she said yes. Then made me all the more happier by telling me I was going to be a daddy.

When it finally sank in while we were dancing, the tears finally came. I had never thought I would be emotional about becoming a father, but it was different with Bella.

Everything was different with her.

I guess it was all of it coming together at once.

How can one person take in the fact that all of their dreams are in fact coming true, and not become emotional about it?

_I am the luckiest fucker on the planet right now._

We were walking back over to the car when Bella spoke up again.

"What do you want first? A boy or a girl?"

_First? As in more than one child in our future?_ I really fucking liked the sound of that.

I had to think for a minute though. Sure every man wants a little boy to carry on his family's name. more so with me since I'm an only child and my parents are gone. But the thought of a little Bella running around brought the biggest smile to my face.

I can just see her with her big brown eyes, long wavy brown hair, cute button nose, pale skin… God, she'd be a vision.

"A girl. Definitely a girl first. Just the thought of having a little you running around the house makes me want to jump around like a madman. She's going to be so beautiful. She's going to look just like you."

I saw the blush creep up on her face and I knew she wanted a girl too.

"Yeah, but I see her with your eyes and your hair. She would be absolutely perfect. The female version of you. Oh shit… We're going out and buying a gun the day she turns twelve. We're going to have boys knocking down our front door at all hours trying to win her heart. Edward, I don't think I'm going to deal with that well." I could see the worry in her eyes when she turned to look at me.

I chuckled at her. "Bell, don't worry. I'm already all over thinking up places to look for one… Actually, I am a little worried about that. She's going to be gorgeous no matter what, so we're going to have to beat guys off with a stick."

We made it back to the car and I opened her door for her so she could slip in. It was just starting to rain, and I'm glad we were able to get in a walk on the pier before it started pouring.

I walked over to the driver side and got in and started our way back home.

"So what if we have a boy? If we do have a boy, there's no doubt that I think he will look like you. How could he not?"

She asked when we got on the road to go back the main part of Seattle.

"Hmmm, I wouldn't mind a little me. You saw my baby pictures that I brought over from my parent's place. I was damn cute." I said.

She laughed heartily. "Yes, you were the cutest baby I've ever seen. What about names? I know how much you have always been against your name, so what other names should we think about?"

She was totally right. How many people want to be named 'Edward'? I'd always kind of resented the name, but I deal with it.

"What about for a girl, Olivia? I've always loved that name." I told her, trying to think of anything to go with it.

"Oh, I love that name. It's so beautiful. Ok so what about for a boy? I've always kind of liked the name Shane or Jackson." She suggested.

"Really? You want to name our son Jackson Masen? It'll sound like a fucking law firm. I like Shane though. Shane Masen sounds good."

We were coming around to some of the back roads that will lead back into town now.

"You may have a point… Ok, so we can still think of some others if we're not totally sure on these. I mean we have eight more months to figure it out and we still don't know what we're… EDWARD LOOK OUT!" She yelled when we came around the curve and saw a car that was stalled.

There was no way I was going to be able to stop. I tried to slam on the brakes, but swerved and I couldn't tell what was going on anymore. All I could hear were screaming tires, and the glass of the windows busting all around us.

But what I heard loud and clear, were the screams coming from Bella. I tried to put my hand out to cover her stomach at least so there was at least some sort of cushioning to any blow that came her way.

I couldn't tell if we were right side up or where we were on the road, or if we were even still on the road anymore. But I suddenly felt my hand slip away from Bella's body and I was landing roughly on a very hard surface. I think it might have been the asphalt but I couldn't be sure from being so disoriented.

I must have blacked out because I was seeing a small girl, with long, wavy bronze hair flowing down her back. She was skipping around in a meadow, in a white sundress.

I looked up and saw Bella in a long white dress as well that was flowing all around her. She was smiling and watching the little girl run around and she even started chasing her around.

The little girl ran around some more, then turned to look directly at me.

Staring me in the eye, were the exact same eyes as Bella's. Big, brown, and beautiful eyes that I fell in love with years ago.

This was her. This was our daughter. It had to be her. She had my hair and Bella's eyes. Her face was pretty much shaped like mine, but she had Bella's jaw and nose, and even that pouty lower lip. She was absolutely perfect. I could cry at how fucking beautiful she was. She was the perfect blend of Bella and me. She was radiant. An absolute vision to see.

She turned back around and ran straight into Bella's waiting arms. Bella caught her, but they were then enveloped in a bright light where I could no longer see them.

I jolted into consciousness and tried to open my eyes. I could feel a slight drizzle of rain coming down on my skin, so I must be outside of the car.

My head hurt like hell and I was sure I had some broken bones. It was hard to move, but I finally was able to move my head and open my eyes. I could tell I landed on the road, not far from the car. What I saw when I looked closer at the car, got me into motion.

Bella was hanging halfway out of the car with her head on the door and I could see blood coming from her arm and head.

I slowly got myself up off the ground and felt that my arm was broken at least, and a few ribs. My vision was kind of blurry but I couldn't worry about that right now.

"Bells? BELLA!" I yelled out to her as I made my way over to the car.

The front end was wedge into a tree, which crushed most of it.

I looked into the car and she wasn't stuck by the front end, so at least I could get her out. I needed to see if her neck was alright though before I moved her.

"Bells, baby look at me. Open your beautiful eyes for me honey." I tried to coax her into consciousness but all I got was a whimper. That was at least something. "Sweetheart, come on. Look at me. I need to see if you're ok… Baby please open up and look at me." I kept trying.

I saw a fluttering of her eyelashes and thanked God that at least she could hear me. I was feeling weird and wondering exactly what else I hit because it was becoming harder to focus on things.

"That's it baby. Come on. I need to check you out. At least tell me if you can move or feel your neck. Then I can get you out of here."

I could see her chest starting to heave a little bit. I knew she was starting to come around some. But she was going to start panicking. I knew her.

"Babe, I need you to calm down. I know you're worried but we're going to get you out of here and fixed up."

"Ed… Edward, it hurts."

Oh shit. Something's wrong. It could be the baby or internal injuries. Fuck, I needed to get her out of there.

"Bells, can you move your neck at all for me?"

She slowly turned her head up to look at me and I could see the blood covering her face.

"Any pain in your neck?" I asked her.

"N…no. Edward, get me the hell out of here. I think… some of my ribs… are broken. It's getting… hard to breath sometimes."

That's all I needed to hear. I undid her seatbelt and reached under her and picked her up bridal style and pulled her over to the grassy area and knelt down and rested her in my arms. She was still heaving breaths and it didn't sound good.

"Babe, what else hurts?"

Her eyes were pretty unfocused and that started freaking me out.

"It hurts everywhere Edward… I don't know what's wrong."

There were tears forming in my eyes now. And I could feel something warm rolling down my forehead and felt it fall into my eye and mixing with the tears. I saw that it was red. Shit, my head's bleeding. That's not good. _Fuuuuuuck_.

Bella's eyes were wanting to close. Never a good sign.

"Keep your eyes open for me sweetheart. I need to see those beautiful brown eyes." Shit, she's not going to stay conscious for long. I need to keep talking to her. "Olivia's going to have those beautiful brown, baby. I saw her." Her eyes slowly opened to look at me. And I nodded to her. "When I was out, I saw her and how perfect she was. She had your eyes, my hair, that cute nose of yours. I need you to stay awake for me so we can meet her together in eight months… I don't know if I'm going to be able to fight to stay awake much longer either babe, so I need you to fight too. We need to both fight for her."

"Edward… please just… hold me…" She whimpered.

The tears were coming full force from me now.

"Bells, please stay with me. I can't lose you two. I won't survive without you, baby. I need you."

I could feel myself starting to falter. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to hold it together much longer. And if she loses consciousness again, it could be the last time. Damn it, this can't be happening to us. We were getting our dream, and it can't just be yanked out from under us like this.

"Edward… kiss me…" she started gasping.

_God, no. not now. You can't take her away from me._

I leaned down and kissed her, what could be our last kiss ever. I took her bottom lip in between my lips and sucked gently. It was one of her favorites. Then I kissed her nose, her eyes, each cheek. And I just held her closely.

Her breathing started to slow down and I was quickly losing the battle to stay lucid.

I leaned down to her ear and whisper right before I fell into the edge of darkness, "I love you both so much. I'll see you soon." and the darkness consumed me.

BPOV

All I could see was blackness all around me. But I could slowly start to see cascading bronze locks of hair.

_No… it can't be… oh God, I have to protect her. I can't lose her._

But as soon as the flash of bronze passed by me, I felt myself being picked up and moved. And then there was a searing pain everywhere in my body. It felt like fire and complete and utter torture.

It felt like it was never going to end.

_This has to be what it feels like to die. Excruciating pain and darkness._

I can't lose my baby. I can't leave Edward. We're suppose to live to be old and grey with our children around us and grandchildren running around the yard. It's not suppose to end like this.

I've never been a religious person, but please God, don't let me leave the two most important people I've ever had in my life. They need me.

What's going to happen to him if I'm gone? Shit… I can't even think about that. He'll be completely crushed. And if the baby is gone along with me, I don't know what he'll do. He's a strong man, but I don't know if he could come back from something like this.

I made a decision to hold onto the thoughts of Edward, and the flash of bronze locks that had to belong to our little girl. _Our little Olivia._

I resolved that I would fight like hell to get back to both of them. I would hold on for Olivia and keep her safe.

_I WILL keep her safe._

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><p><em>*Runs and hides* don't kill me yet. We've still got a ways to go. <em>

_E.C. reading: There Will Be Freedom (LOVE IT! Guns, mobs, and total sexiness)_

_Sincerely, Sergeant Masen (YES PLEASE. who doesn't want an Edward with a gun and army camo? that's what i thought. lol)_

_Will update soon._

_Review:) Love y'all_


	4. Chapter 4

Alrighty peeps! got chapter 4 up for ya. I know some people are probably worried about them dying, but this is the chapter where you get some answers. So don't worry too much.

As usual, my Lola beta'd. muah (note to self, must update hitlist... lol)

And again, I sadly don't own Twilight. (I wish like hell i did) but thank you to SM for giving us these awesome characters to play with:)

OK! Onward! lol

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><p>Chapter 4<p>

?POV (you'll figure it out)

I was running through the woods, on the back roads of Seattle, near the piers.

I suddenly stopped at the smell of blood and the sound of pleading.

"…I need you to stay awake for me so we can meet her together in eight months… I don't know if I'm going to be able to fight to stay awake much longer either babe, so I need you to fight too. We need to both fight for her." The man said as I came upon him holding a woman in his arms, who was bloody and in dyer shape.

I could smell her blood and a third heartbeat coming from their area. Which from what he was saying when I arrived on the scene, she must be pregnant.

She probably already lost a lot of blood and the baby was not going to survive if she didn't get medical attention.

"Edward… please just… hold me…" the girl whimpered.

She was in a great deal of pain, I could tell. And from what I could see, the man also seemed to be wavering himself.

Wait… Edward… Oh no. This was the young man I talked with earlier about the position at the children's hospital. He was so excited to work there and told me of his plans he had to propose to his girlfriend tonight, and he could tell her the news about going to a new hospital.

"Bells please stay with me. I can't lose you two. I won't survive without you, baby. I need you." he begged her.

I reached the edge of the woods and I could see the whole scene clearly.

Their car had obviously swerved to miss the other car that was stalled on the road and crashed. There seemed to be more damage to the car than from just a straight on collision with the tree, so it had to have flipped or hit another point around the curve.

"Edward… kiss me…" the girl started gasping for air.

Oh this was not good. What should I do to help? I'm a doctor. I should be able to help save her so this man doesn't loose the woman he apparently loves deeply.

My phone buzzed in my pocket with a message. I pulled it out and saw that it was Alice.

**Do it. It will work out. Bite her ASAP and bring them both back here. ~A**

I don't know how she knew that but I guess it was a fleeting thought in my head to change her to save her.

_It wouldn't be the first time I've done it._

Edward leaned down and kissed the girl as her breathing was starting to slow.

"I love you both so much. I'll see you soon." he told her before he collapsed.

I could hear Esme not far behind me and I knew that Alice factored her in as well.

Es would want to do whatever we could to save both of them.

"Carlisle I smell blood, what happened? Oh dear Lord no."

"Es, I have to save them. Alice told me go ahead and bite the girl, but not the man. But we have to get them out of here and back to the house. Can you help me dear? And hold your nose and close your throat as best you can. I don't want you to lose your composure." I asked her as we made our way over to the two bodies.

"Of course I'll help you, darling. I know Alice will have her reasons for us doing this, but they are so young. They have so much ahead of them… Is that what I think it is, dear?" She asked with a confused look on her face.

"Yes, I believe so. But the baby won't make it. I don't see any way to save it. She's too early into her pregnancy to do anything about it. I'm sorry, my love. But we have to move soon or we won't be able to save either of them."

She nodded and picked up Edward and took off towards the house.

I looked down at the girl as I picked her up.

"I'm truly sorry, dear girl. But I have no choice but to try to save you. Forgive me." I told her as I leaned down and sunk my teeth into her skin at her wrist.

Immediately, her heart rate took off.

_Ah yes, it's already starting._

She'll be in an extreme amount of pain for a few days, but hopefully she'll wake up and we can sort this all out as to what to do with Edward.

I took off after Esme with the girl in my arms. I paid attention to the girl's heartbeat; it was franticly fast.

We ran quickly back to the house. Once we were in the front door, I was giving out orders. "Jasper, out of the house. Now. Alice, tell me what you've seen. Rosalie, get some water so we can wash off this blood and find some clothes for them. Emmett, start getting a room set up for them. For now, I'm going to keep her down here. Esme, take him up to my study and lay him on the sofa until we can get him somewhere else. I'll fill you all in once we get them setup somewhere. I need to examine him and see his injuries. I don't know if he'll survive. Go." I stated calmly to each of them.

I sat the girl down on the sofa in the living room and made her as comfortable as possible, considering her circumstances.

Once she seemed in an acceptable position, I followed Esme up to my study where she was with Alice and Edward.

"Alice, what have you seen, dear?" I asked her as I went to work on Edward.

She hesitated for a moment. "Well, so far it's just been the girl as one of us. Your flash of decision was what made me see it. But other than that, I'm not sure until someone else makes a decision about him." She said, pointing towards Edward. "I don't doubt that she would choose to save him if there was no option. But I think we should hold off for as long as we possibly can… I know you don't change someone unless there is no other option. I'm still scanning the future but until she's closer to being a vampire, I won't know much more about her, or her decisions."

"Thank you Alice. You're right. We should hold off making a choice for him. His name is Edward. He's the one I went to talk to today about coming to work at the children's hospital. He was ready to go straight to work there. It's been his goal to work with kids since he was in med school. And he told me his girlfriend is a teacher…" I was cut off by Rose standing at the door.

"She is. She works at the school I teach at too. I've seen her there. Her name is Bella." Rosalie said sort of dryly.

"Do you have something against her, Rosalie?" Esme asked her.

Rosalie just rolled her eyes. "Not really. She's just been this happy little human since she started there."

"Is it the baby that has you bothered?" I asked, trying to figure her out.

She just glared and walked out of the room.

"I think I got my answer." I said under my breathe.

I heard a crash downstairs and knew it had to be Rosalie throwing one of the vases against the wall.

I'll have to deal with her issues later.

Edward seemed to be barely holding on. He had lost a large amount of blood and was starting to look paler as time went on. He had hit his head and broken several ribs. One seemed to be fairly close to his lungs and in danger of puncturing it. His arm was broken as well. There was a lot of swelling and I'm not quite sure of any blood clots yet.

Once I got him cleaned up as best as I could, I hooked him up to monitors to keep an eye on him. The blood-loss is what concerns me the most. Although, the fight may not be in him anymore if he thinks the girl he loves is gone. But we have no way of him knowing that for sure until she's awake. And even then, I don't think I can let her near him with her being a newborn. The temptation would be too much for her. Hopefully he'll come around long enough to tell him that she's ok… in a manner of speaking anyways.

I made my way back downstairs after getting Edward in new clothes so the blood wasn't out in the open.

Alice had changed Bella's clothes and handed them to me once I made it into the living room.

I started the fireplace and tossed the blood soaked clothes in and watched them burn.

I turned back to the Alice and Esme, but Alice already knew what I wanted.

"I'll get them." She danced out of the room.

She was gone for less than a minute, and then everyone was gathered in the dining room, sitting around the table.

"I know all of you have questions about what is going on. So I will fill you in. Jasper, are you going to be able to handle yourself?" He nodded.

I went on to tell them what had happened from the time I came across the scent of blood, up until we walked in the front door.

"I realize we have a precarious situation with one of them already on their way to becoming a vampire, and the other unconscious, but we will deal with it once they come around. But I will say this now. When they wake up, we will help them adjust, and answer any questions they have. We won't just push them out the door and let them fend for themselves.

For now, we are to watch them. I don't want any crap out of you two boys," I pointed towards Jasper and Emmett, "and Rosalie, I don't know what your affliction is to Bella, but please rein it in. If she decides to become a part of this family, then you are going to have to learn to live with her. Alice, dear, I want you to keep a lookout for either of their futures. I have a feeling Edward may not make it. He's lost too much blood and his injuries are rough. But I think the fight may be taken out of him since he believes he has lost Bella for good. But I will keep an eye on him.

"Esme, sweetie, will you please stay with Bella? I want her to have someone there with her through this in case she has any complications. I know the baby is something to worry about…" I was cut off by Jasper.

"Wait; is that what the other sound is? Her heartbeat didn't seem normal when you brought her in. Now I think I know why, I've felt determination from her since you brought her in and I think she's trying to fight for the baby." Jasper informed me.

That was something else I had to factor in. What was I going to do about the baby she's carrying?

The heartbeat of it still seems strong, and the fetus hasn't been expelled from her body yet. Therefore I have no idea what to make of this.

"Again, we'll see how that plays out. I personally have never dealt with someone who is pregnant. But I've heard others who have dealt with it. Let's just say that the body doesn't accommodate the fetus any longer when the change is happening."

I could see Rosalie turn her head to look out of the window. She was one who would do anything for a child of her own.

"Alright, everyone please do what I asked and we'll talk more about this when new developments come up." I told them, and they each excused themselves from the table.

Esme walked over to Bella and sat beside her, holding her hand.

I walked up behind Esme and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Es, I know how hard this is on you, darling. But you can't let it get you down. We will help her through this. You have knowledge to help her through this over anyone else. You'll show her what path to take."

"It will be a little bit harder for her to kill herself if it consumes her like it did to me. But I know what you mean. She's going to need support that I never had and someone to listen to her. We'll be here for her. She's going to have so much to deal with when she wakes up." Esme said, looking up at me.

"I know, my dear." I kissed the top of her head. "We will do whatever it takes to help her."

I walked back upstairs to check on Edward. He was stable for now but his vitals were incredibly weak. I'm going to give it more time before I make the decision to change him. He could come around from this, but I've seen enough people not able to fight.

Through the night, I stayed near Edward, while Esme stayed by Bella's side. She was automatically drawn to the girl, and I knew she would regard her as her own daughter. Much like she has with Alice and Rosalie.

Edward's vitals didn't change during the night, which was good and bad.

Good, because it meant that he hadn't gotten worse. And bad, because there was no sign of improvement. I'm going to have to talk to Alice soon and see if she's seen anything else.

"It's still sketchy, Carlisle. Give it some more time." Alice called up the stairs.

"Alice, I can't hold off forever. If his organs start failing, my decision's going to be made for me."

"I know, dad. But her future still isn't concrete yet. I think it has something to do with the baby. I can't figure it out. And it could be too that we're still not sure about Edward yet either. Even when you just said that your decision would be made if his organs started failing, it was only a small glimpse that I couldn't quite make out. Something is different about these two and we're going to have our hands full when this is all over."

"Hmm, I wonder what it is that's keeping you from seeing. But you saw her before I bit her, right? So why can't you see it better now?" I asked her.

"I'm not sure. Something isn't playing out yet. Whatever is supposed to happen to make the final decision hasn't happened. And something is blocking it so I can't tell what else it is that's suppose to force that final decision… Does that make any sense?"

"Alice, yes, I get what you're saying. It's a string of events we're waiting on for you to see what will end up happening. So do you know about how long we'll have to wait until said event should transpire for us to figure out what we need to do?" I asked.

She looked off into space to scan the future, I presumed.

Her eyes opened up, a bit confused.

"Huh… it's going to happen tonight or tomorrow morning… But it seems to involve having something to do with Bella's input… How the hell is that's supposed to happen? She's supposed to be out for another two to two and a half days. What…" She stopped short, looking at the wall, it seemed.

"Alice, dear, what is it?"

"…She's going to wake up early…" She still had a confused look on her face. Then something dawned on her. "Oh My God! She's what we're waiting on!" She exclaimed, bounce up and down on her feet.

"Slow down there, dear. What are you talking about? A normal transformation takes two to three days. Are you telling me she'll wake up a day early?"

Suddenly, the entire family was in the room with us, looking stunned and confused as to what they heard.

"What? She's gonna wake up ahead of normal timing?" Jasper asked from Alice's side.

"Yeah. At least from what I can sense. It's not what I can 'see', per se, but it's a feeling that she's going to be the one to influence the decision for Edward. But it wasn't totally finalized. She's going to be extremely confused. But as soon as she's told what's happening, she'll make the choice."

"You're sure about this, sweetie?" Esme asked from the doorway.

"Pretty darn sure. Something else is there too, but I can't see it. So I guess we'll all find out tomorrow for sure." Alice informed us.

Well that could be worrisome. If we don't know what else we have to look for, it could be something to blindside us.

_We really rely on her foresight far too much._

"We're gonna have a super vamp on our hands, aren't we?" Emmett couldn't help but make light of the situation.

"Emmett, we don't know that. It could just be due to her heart already being too weak and it was easier for the venom to take over her body. This could also be the case for Edward. But that will all depend on whatever this is, that we are waiting on to happen. Alice, the second that you know what it is, you let us know. We can't waste time if it's going to have consequences." I told her.

"I will, dad. Don't worry. I'm going to be wholly focused on these two for the next few days." Alice said, proudly. She was going to make sure she was on top of this situation.

Over the next day, Alice stayed in one place. In front of the fireplace, looking at Bella the whole time. She was totally concentrated on looking into the future.

At one point during the day, she called me downstairs.

"Dad, I'm still not understanding what the deal is with the baby. I mean you said so yourself, her body should have expelled the fetus. I can still hear its heartbeat. What does that mean?" She asked, with her brow furrowed.

"I still don't know. There's no reason it shouldn't have happened yet. If you're right, and her transformation will be complete by tonight, then… by all means, the fetus should be dead… Which I loathe the thought of happening to any innocent life. It just doesn't make sense that her body is holding the child, and still alive… I'll look at some of the old books and see if I can find anything that can explain this."

She nodded, and I took off up the stairs to my study to grab a few of the books that are like records for vampire history. It's the one thing we always make sure to grab when we leave a place. It's the first thing to go.

I took the books to the room we set Edward up in and started looking through them after I checked on him again. He still hasn't had any change in his vitals and that's starting to worry me. He may have had a severe impact the last time he hit his head, but I can't exactly take him to the hospital and have x-rays and CT scans done on him. So I have to rely on my medical background and hope I haven't missed anything big.

Either way, he will either be healed as a human, or he will be one of us. I refuse to let him die.

I know I've lost patients before, but those are based on circumstances that no one has any control of. Everything that could be humanly done was done. But there is a reason I met Edward yesterday, and that I came across the accident last night. And there is a reason, it was Bella, who works with Rosalie at the elementary school, that was in the accident and that she was Edward's girlfriend.

I'm going to make sure I do everything within my power to make sure they don't lose each other.

They came into our lives for a reason.

As I read through the books, there wasn't much that would help us understand any better. This is something outside of what we had ever dealt with before. The only thing that even came close to what we needed to know was an old legend that no one ever thought would come to pass because it seemed impossible to ever happen.

I heard an audible gasp from downstairs. I knew something had either happened or Alice saw something.

I set the books down and ran downstairs to where she was, along with the rest of the family.

"What is it, Alice?" I asked after seeing the strangest look on her face. I wasn't sure if it was excitement, fear, anxiety, happiness, or worry, whatever it was.

She was looking in the corner of the living room where a defensive Bella stood, baring her teeth.

* * *

><p>Soooooo who knew the vamps were coming into the story? I couldn't help it. I'd rather strive towards a happy end than have my main characters die. I've dealt with enough people in my life dying in car accidents.<p>

Let me know what you guys think of the story, good, bad, whatever. i like to hear people's thoughts on things.

Laters y'all


	5. Chapter 5

Hello peeps! How's it going?

Well, here we go with chapter 5. We're going to get some answers in this one. Some explinations. I know this is starting to go in a different direction then most people thought,... but oh well. This hit me like a mach truck one day and i had to write it down.

Bells has a dance recital tomorrow so that should be fun to go see. (anyone have kids that are into ballet AND t-ball? yeah we've got a dilema on our hands in my family. my little bat toating ballerina. lol)

It's May now, so the Eclipse Calendar shows Edward and Bella in the meadow (my favorite!)

Alright, the usual housekeeping: beta'd by my Lola (muah. gratzie again sorella ur the best)

And of course, Twilight doesn't belong to me... damn it.

On with the story!

* * *

><p>Chapter 5<p>

BPOV

The man in front of me turned to look fully at me and held his hands up in surrender. He then slowly moved towards me.

"Bella, dear, it's ok. No one is going to hurt you. I promise. My name is Carlisle." He told me in a soothing voice.

Two more men came further into the living room. One was massive in size with dark, curly hair. And the other was more slim and with longer, wavy blond hair. They were followed by another woman with caramel colored hair and a very loving face.

I growled slightly, not knowing where I was and feeling cornered and outnumbered. "Where's Edward?"

"He's fine right now. We're monitoring him closely. But we need to explain to you what happened. I know you're probably very confused as to what has happened to you." The man, Carlisle, tried to explain to me. I wasn't so sure if he was telling the truth.

"Please, dear? You've been… unconscious for a couple of days, and there is a lot to tell you. Would you like to sit down so we can talk?" He motioned to the couch.

I looked around the room cautiously, looking at each person in the room. The pixie like girl that was there when I woke up was looking like she was going to pounce out the window in a minute, but was trying to contain herself. She was odd, but friendly, I guess.

"Emmett, would you please go ask Rosalie to join us?" Carlisle asked the hulk of a man. I guess there were more people in this house. I'd have to ask exactly how many people were here and what the hell was going on.

"Sure. You know she's just being pigheaded." The big guy, Emmett said, strolling to the back door, and then stopping dead in his tracks.

"EMMETT, I HEARD THAT!" I heard from outside.

A beautiful blond that I recognized from somewhere, came barreling in the house ready to rip Emmett's head off.

"Baby, you know it was a joke." Emmett tried to defend himself, backing up as she stalked towards him.

Rosalie, I'm assuming, looked somewhat of a loose cannon right now. She looked like she could seriously hurt Emmett.

"Rosalie, set it aside right now, and we will talk later. Right now we are going to explain things to Bella as a family, whether you like it or not." Carlisle told her, in a very fatherly voice that left little to be argued.

She huffed but sat down on the far side of the room.

Carlisle turned back to look at me, but I was still confused.

"Rosalie Cullen?" I asked, then threw my hand over my mouth. That seriously was not my voice. I hadn't noticed it earlier because I was so worried about Edward, but now it freaked me out a little bit. What happened to me to make my voice so different?

"It's all part of the explanation." Carlisle said, taking a seat on one of the couches.

I finally sat down on the couch but I still felt defensive around these people. I wish I knew what the hell was going on.

"Bella, dear, what was the last thing you remember?" Carlisle asked me.

I sat there and thought for a moment, trying to piece together what had happened.

I remember our date earlier, Edward proposing to me, telling him about the baby, driving home… _OH SHIT._

"Oh my God! Where is he? I need to know he's ok! The last thing I remember was him holding me on the road and…" I trailed off trying to form coherent thoughts. He was so weak looking when he was holding me. And I have no idea what happened after I lost consciousness. He could be dead for all I know. _NO!_ He can't be dead! Oh God… what about Olivia?…

A painful sob left my mouth that came out instead of tears. I had no idea why I couldn't cry now. "Is… is she gone? Is my baby dead?" My hand flew to my stomach, then I heard it. What sounded like a heartbeat through a stethoscope. My eyes widened. How was it possible to hear something like that with normal ears?

"Your baby seems to be fine, as far as we can tell. But 'why' is what we are coming up blank on. Yes, you are able to hear the baby's heartbeat right now, but first, you should know that… you are no longer… human." Carlisle told me in an almost calm voice, but you could hear the wonder underneath it. _Wait… did he just say that I'm not human anymore?… What the fuck?_

"…What do you mean? I'm living and breathing and talking to you. How am I not human? I'm still the same as I've always been… except that my voice does sound different. And I can see things with perfect clarity. Even dust particles. My throat feels like it's on fire. Like I haven't had anything to drink in years. It's somewhat manageable, but… it's so weird. And I can hear… everything… Is that… another heartbeat?" I asked, looking above me to where I could hear what sounded like another beating heart upstairs. It has to be Edward.

"Yes, it is. But I need you to focus right now. You need to understand what is going on so you can learn how to adapt." I nodded. The sooner I understood all of this, the sooner I could be with Edward. It hurt not to be near him right now. "I know that this is very different for you. But… have you ever heard of a vampire?"

I snorted. "Are you serious? Vampires aren't real. Are you high or something?" Seriously, what the fuck was this guy smoking? Vampires… Really?

He laughed at that questioning. I guess that would be a normal kind of reaction if you asked if someone believed in vampires.

"Actually my dear, that's what you've become. I am so sorry, but I did it to save your life. I came across the accident and saw you fall into unconsciousness. You would have died had I not bitten you and changed you into what you are now. We are all vampires in this room. It has never been my practice to go around biting humans. We don't even feed off of humans. We live off of the blood of animals. We found an alternative way of living and have stayed with it. Some think we are going against our instincts, but I don't feel as guilty as I would if I'd taken the life of an innocent soul. But that has not stopped me from saving those souls that were on the brink of death. Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, and now you have all been changed just before death could take you. Alice and Jasper were different. Alice doesn't know who changed her, and Jasper was changed to start an army of vampires in the south. His history is the roughest of all of us.

"You will have a burning feeling in your throat until you hunt, and even after that it will still linger because you are a newborn vampire. But we will make sure you are well fed so when you go back into the world at some point, you won't be tempted, if you're willing to adapt to our feeding style." I could only nod. "Ok, as soon as we're done here, Esme and Emmett" He motioned to each of them, "Will take you out and teach you how to hunt. There is not much to it. Your instinct will be your best asset when you are in the woods. You will learn to use it.

"I know you are worried about Edward. As you should be. Right now he is stable. But there has been no change in his condition in the past two days. I'm afraid if he doesn't get better, his organs will start to deteriorate and fail. At which point we will have no choice but to act quickly and change him into a vampire. But only if it is ok with you. I could see how much love was between the two of you on the highway, and I know how hard it is to be away from the one you love." He glanced over at Esme, "But it has to be your decision, ultimately. I made a split second decision to change you. But if you feel that you don't want to subject him to this life, I will understand." I growled at him then. "Ok, I guess that means you would rather have him by your side?"

"Yes. I don't know if I can deal with this without him. And what about our baby? I don't understand what's supposed to happen to her. Is she going to die? Is she going to be deformed? What? I'm so confused." I got out in a strangled voice. The more I started to think about each of them, the more panicked I became about it.

"Carlisle?" The pixie girl chimed in, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

He looked over to her, and she still seemed to have the same look as earlier. "What is it Alice? Did you see something? Does it have something to do with the baby?"

Alice nodded. "It's them!" She squeaked out.

"What? What are you talking about, dear?" Carlisle asked. She wasn't making any sense to me.

"You were looking at the books weren't you?" Carlisle nodded, "It has to be them! You came across the story about _Una Potente, _the Powerful One, right?" Again, he nodded. "You thought about what it could be like if that were them, and when she woke up, I saw it! There's no other option! It's them! They're the parents of the powerful one. That child that she is carrying is going to be the most powerful vampire that's ever been known. Which means the two of them should end up having some pretty kick-ass powers themselves." Alice told us, looking at me to see if anything seemed different about me. I was even more confused.

_What does she mean 'she saw it'?_

"Whoa, hold it there pixie. How is that even possible? Everyone has said that that story could never be true since we never change. How is she going to carry a baby if she's a vampire? And how the hell is it not dead yet?" He looked over to me, "Sorry. But you all said so yourselves that the baby shouldn't have survived. And if she's already awake, and that baby still has a heartbeat, then will someone please tell me what the hell this is supposed to mean?" Emmett asked, trying to understand.

They each took a look at me and could apparently still hear the sound of the baby's heartbeat. So there was no doubt it was still in there, and very much alive.

"Can someone please fucking explain now?" Emmett asked.

"Language Emmett" Carlisle scolded, then looked over at the blond man, then back to me, and started talking.

"The story basically says that there will be two mortals that will come together to make a child. It doesn't say how, but the parents will be changed to become the child's protectors. The child is said to become one of, if not the, most powerful vampire in the world. It doesn't say anything about what its powers will be, only that it will be a feared creature and highly sought after. Which means it will have to be protected from the Volturi. You all know their affinity for power. But the child will be the equivalent to royalty in our world. We have to help protect the three of them. This has to be the reason they have fallen into our laps." He explained to each of us.

"Holy shit…" Emmett eloquently put it.

"That's about right." the blond man said. "This child will probably be hunted for its gift. I think you're right, Carlisle. With this family being the largest established group of vampires in the world, aside from the Volturi, there had to be a universal reason they were sent our way. We will make sure no harm comes to any of them."

"Jasper's right. We can't leave them unguarded. But, the child is said to be born as a half-vampire, half human. No one has said why that is supposed to happen, but it could be that since Bella was changed while pregnant, the venom that is flowing through her veins now, will be feeding the baby. That will alter the child somewhat. But it still has a beating heart, so it's still part human… I'm wondering what your powers are Bella… that could have something to do with this." He looked at me, then at Alice, waiting for an answer from her.

She shook her head. "I don't know Carlisle. The vision I had wasn't completely clear, but it gave me enough to solidify the 'powerful one' theory. We may not know until she uses it to know for sure what it is."

"Wait, what do you mean 'powers'? What kind of powers are you talking about? How am I supposed to have powers? And how the hell did you see it?" I asked, frantically.

"Bella, please calm down, dear. Powers come to some of us when we are changed. Some of us were acute to certain things in our past life. Like Jasper. He can sense and manipulate emotions of people." I sat there gaping at Jasper, "Alice can see the future. But only certain parts that pertain to a choice that someone makes. Sometimes it's random chance.

"If what the story says is true, then you and Edward will have highly strong powers yourselves. But that is something we will work on once we get you taken care of. We can talk more once you've returned. I know you're anxious to be around Edward, but it will have to wait until either he is one of us, or that you have enough control over your thirst. He is still a human, so with you being a newborn, you could easily go in there and kill him. Which I know you don't want to do."

He looked at me straight in the eye. "I can smell it from here. But I don't want it. Yes it smells good, but I don't think I could take his blood." It was strange. I could smell it, it was appealing, but I didn't want to consume it.

Carlisle looked over at Jasper again.

_I'm seriously getting tired of all this looking around to different people._

"There's no bloodlust in her, Carlisle. She's right. She can smell it, but it doesn't make her crazy for blood. I've never seen someone do that before. Maybe it could be part of her gift."

That doesn't mean anything to me. What the hell is bloodlust?

Carlisle apparently saw my confusing. "Bloodlust is how much someone's blood appeals to you. It can make you go crazy and attack. We have learned to refocus our bloodlust and control it so that we don't kill humans."

"Wait, so are all vampires like you? Or are you just… different? I know you said earlier that you feed off of animals, but I don't understand that fully." I wondered. I had never heard of vampires not drinking human blood.

"It's mainly my doing. When I was created, I had a loathing of what I became. So I tried to starve and kill myself. I stayed in the woods for a long time just waiting to die. A deer came across my path, and something snapped in me, so I chased after the deer and fed off of it, it sustained me and kept my strength up. So that is how I started living. I have never fed off of a human in over three hundred years. But I did change Esme, Emmett and Rosalie, and now you. So that's been the only time I've tasted human blood. I've always been able to control myself around blood, which is why I became a doctor. That is the abridged version of my story, but the rest can wait. I will let the others tell you there story when they're ready as well. But for now, why don't we get you fed and we can discuss what we are going to do about Edward when you return." Carlisle said.

That sounded like a very good idea to me. The sooner I got this out of the way, the sooner I could be near Edward. I don't know why, but I feel like I have to be around him all the time.

I nodded to him and stood up, a little quicker than I'm used to and was halfway across the room before I even knew it.

"Holy hell… Did I really just do that?" I said more to myself but I heard Emmett snicker behind me.

"Yeah, it's one of the things you'll have to get used to, Tink." Emmett said.

_Hold up. Did he just give me a nickname?_

I looked back at him with a raised eyebrow and he burst out laughing. Alice let out a tinkling laugh herself. I saw the others holding their laughter back, but it was with some effort.

"I like it. It works for her. She does seem to be faster than most of us." Alice said.

Ooooook.

"Did you seriously just call me Tinkerbell?" I asked him.

"Aww, come on little one." He came up to me and threw an arm around my shoulders, "Alice may be the pixie, but you're certainly faster. You'll fit in with her with no problem. And besides, your name's Bella. How many other nicknames can you really come up with?" He asked.

I ducked my head because I thought about the nicknames Edward had for me. I really missed hearing him call me Bell all the time. I don't even know how long it's been since we were in the accident anyways.

"Uhh, well Edward has always had nicknames for me since the day we started dating. It… started out as 'Beautiful Bella' then 'Bell' and 'Bells'…" I looked up at the ceiling, "You better get your ass back to me, Edward. I can't do this without you. You told me you'd be here with me through this." With my hands on my stomach, over our baby, I closed my eyes and prayed that he'd make his way back to my side.

I opened my eyes and focused on Emmett beside me. "Alright, let's get this done. I want to get back here as soon as I can."

He nodded and looked back to Carlisle. "I'll have my phone with me. Come on, mom. Let's school our little newbie here." He laughed, and then turned to bolt out the back door.

I looked after him, guessing I should follow him. I turned back to where Esme was standing beside me, and she nodded towards the door.

I took off after Emmett, with Esme on my heels. We leapt over the river in the back yard, quite easily I might add. That had to be the coolest thing I've ever done. Then Emmett took off again into the trees. I didn't see him but I could smell him.

_That's still weird. _

"Just follow the scent. You'll get used to each of our scents in time. But you should be able to follow his and be able to keep up with him." Esme told me with a sympathetic smile.

I gave her the best smile I could muster, and smelled the air again, then ran off in the direction that I could smell Emmett. His scent smelled very masculine. Kind of like a woodsy smell with a bit of citrus. _Huh, that will take some getting used to._

Esme was beside me and I inhaled her scent to see if hers was much different. She smelled more like a homey kind of scent. Like cinnamon. It was nice and welcoming. And she exuded that motherly factor too. You would always feel loved and cared for in her presence. I don't think I could ever feel threatened by her. She just seems too sweet.

"What is it dear?" She asked me, noticing me stare at her.

Normally I would probably blush, but I didn't feel the tale-tale signs of it creeping up my cheeks.

_Wow, I guess that's one more thing that works in my favor being a vampire. HAA!_

"Nothing really. I'm just trying to get a feel for you. You seem like such a mother. I don't think I could see you being in any way mean or cross."

She laughed, "Oh sweetheart. You'll see my vampire side when I have to protect my family." She laughed evilly, but then straightened out her expression. "But yes, I guess I am the mother of the family. And Carlisle is the father figure. We do really act as a family unit. Not that many of our kind have that close of a connection or live in a group this large. Normally it's only two to three in any coven. But since we are 'vegetarians', in a manner of speaking, we seem to form a much closer bond than others of our kind." She explained.

"So, how many other 'vegetarian' vampires are out there, besides you and your family?" I had to know out of curiosity.

We were still weaving through the trees, following Emmett's scent.

"Well, we've only ever come across one other coven that shares our diet. They live in Alaska, in Denali. But I'll let Carlisle tell you the whole story. There are five of them, and we'll more than likely visit with them in the near future. I would love for you and Edward to meet them as well." She told me as we jumped over a small stream.

The mention of Edward made my heart clinch.

"That would be nice. I just want him to be ok. What if Carlisle is too late? If what they said was true, how the hell am I supposed to do this on my own?" I asked, knowing I could probably count on her to tell me what I needed to know.

She looked at me with that motherly smile. "Bella dear, Carlisle will do whatever it takes to have him returned to you, one way or the other. But if the story is true, he will have to be changed into one of us, regardless. He won't be safe as a human. Your child's scent will be a mix of yours and his. So anyone of us would be able to know he is the father. You'll also be able to find them wherever they are because you will share your child's scent. It will be easy for you to pick up on. In a nutshell, you, Edward and your child will be able to automatically know each other's scents. It will be like second nature to you all. But I don't want you to worry about any of that right this second." She looked up to see that Emmett had come to a stop not far ahead of us. "Let's get you fed. Now, this won't be too hard. Just listen to what we say and you should do just fine."

We came up behind Emmett and stopped. He had his eyes closed and I was trying to figure out what he was doing.

Esme saw my confusion. "Close your eyes, Bella. Listen to what's in the woods. Let your hearing and other senses take over and let it tell you where animals are around you. You'll be able to locate them that way. Just try it."

Ok, so I guess it's supposed to be like a sixth sense or something.

I closed my eyes and just listened. As I let my senses fan out around me, I could hear something, I think it was leaves and twigs crunching under hooves. I could smell it too. It smelled semi-appetizing, but I didn't even know what it was yet. Hopefully that didn't matter much.

I looked over to Emmett and he was looking at me expectantly.

"Umm, I'm not sure what it is, but with this area, I'd have to say something like maybe a deer… Sixty yards… four o'clock" I pointed in the direction that I smelled it.

Emmett looked a little shocked at my vernacular.

"My dad was a cop and took me hunting sometimes." I told them with a shrug.

He looked at Esme with a wicked grin. "She's going to be awesome." And Esme laughed with him. "How many?"

"Four?" I said it like a question.

He nodded and motioned for me to stand in front of him.

"Let go of everything, let your senses take over and just go after it. You'll know what to do." He said with his hands on my shoulders.

I closed my eyes again, and tried to do what he said.

I felt where they were and somehow, my mind was calculating how far it was to get to them, and which way was best to go on the hunt. I'm not sure how my brain did it, but it just clicked.

My eyes snapped open and I looked up to Emmett behind me.

"Go." He said.

_He didn't have to tell me twice._

I stepped away from him and leapt up into the tree that was right above me. I started making my way through the tree limbs, with no problem, and ended up about ten yards away from where the deer were grazing.

I crouched on the tree branch, and tried to figure out my best line of attack.

It was weird that I was thinking this way. Like I was an animal myself and I was stalking my prey.

Well in a sense, I was. I had the instincts and the means, obviously, now to take down animals that previously could have ripped me to shreds.

_Oh how the tables have turned._

Without thinking too much about it, I jumped down from the tree and pounced on the nearest deer, and sunk my teeth into its neck. The gush of blood that flowed into my mouth was beyond welcoming. The burn in my throat subsided minutely, I was still slightly thirsty though, but it was manageable.

"I'm very impressed. You didn't even make that big of a mess." Emmett chuckled from beside a tree, with Esme walking up behind him with a smile on her face.

I looked down at myself, and realized that I wasn't wearing the dress I had been wearing on our date. I was in a pair of jeans and a dark green button-up shirt. _Huh. Guess I'm not quite as observant as I like to think I am._

"You did very well, dear. I'm proud of you. Most of us are very messy and careless when we first hunt. You went with the simplest route and got your kill. You didn't dwell on how to do it did you?" She asked as she walked towards me.

I was a little defensive as she walked towards me but she put her hands up in front of her to tell me she wasn't a threat. So I settled down some.

"No. How did you know?" Did she watch me the whole time as I hunted?

"That's the only way you didn't have that much trouble taking down that deer. If we think about it too much, we get too many different ideas of how to do it and they start to mesh once we pounce. It's only during the first months while we learn. But you seem to have gotten a hold on it out of the gate. I don't think you'll have any problems hunting in the future. You just have to narrow down what you like. We'll take you around so you can get some variety." She smiled at me.

"That would be great. I don't know about you guys, but that deer tasted kind of… are they suppose to have a hint of a vegetable taste to them?" I asked. I wasn't kidding either. It tasted like a mix of leafy greens of some kind.

They both laughed at that. "Well, in a way, yes. I guess you could put it that way. All animals that we hunt have a different taste to us. Herbivores usually have that taste that you're talking about. It takes time to get used to, dear. Don't worry. Do you want to try again, or do you think you've had enough for right now?" Esme asked.

"I think I'd rather get back to the house. I'm desperate to get back to Edward. I'm so worried about him."

Emmett grabbed his cell phone to check the time. He dialed a number; I'm assuming that it was to someone back at the house.

"Hey Ali. We're heading back... Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow it down pixie. What happened? Was there no other choice? Ok, I hope no one gets killed over this." Emmett closed the phone and looked at me with a somber expression on his face. "Edward's heart rate started slowing…"

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><p>Ok soooo anyone that has questions, comments, wants to bitch about it, hit me. I'm all ears.<p>

I seriously need to stop watching food network, because now I have the urge to go get some Japanese food. (Fusion Bowl is calling my name) ok, i'm out.

Laters!


	6. Chapter 6

Hello again peeps! hopefully some of you are liking this story. We've still got several more chapters to go. Don't give up on me yet.

As per the usual, my Lola (aka LaurieWhitlock) beta'd for moi. (side note Lola; i can't fucking wait to get to my other story after this! i'm so psyched about it!) back on topic.

And of course, I don't own Twilight. But I am forever grateful to SM for giving us this little world.

And now, on with the story!

Flipside peeps!

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><p>Chapter 6<p>

BPOV

"_Edward's heart rate started slowing…" _That phrase was going to be on a loop in my head forever.

Emmett saw my panicked face and went on to explain.

"Calm down Tink. Alice gave Carlisle the go ahead for him to change Edward. She had a vision that either way, whether you were asked or Carlisle made the choice, Edward would have been changed, regardless. Just don't be mad. He did it to save him. Carlisle was afraid of this happening to him. The slightest sign of his organs faltering and it would have been a slim chance for it to work. He was already so weak as it was, that he had to make the decision fast. He could have flat-lined at any moment. So he looked to Alice to make sure." He then looked over to Esme. "Alice got everyone else out of the house before he did it. So don't worry. Jasper wasn't anywhere near it."

I had to let that sink in.

_Edward was becoming a vampire too._

It made me feel slightly better actually. I know I probably should have been mad that I wasn't asked, but I really just have to roll with this stuff now. I have no idea about anything in this new world that I've gotten myself into.

If Carlisle says that Alice can see the future, then I guess I should trust that. I'm taking a huge leap of faith trusting these people, but what else am I suppose to do? Anything I've ever known about vampires before, seems to have no bearing on the things that I've heard so far. So I really have to go on blind faith for now.

I nodded my head so they would have some sort of acknowledgement that I heard and understood Emmett.

"I guess we should head back then. Bella should be ok to be around Edward now since the venom is working it's way through his body." Esme said, turning to run.

"Is that what changes us? I've never heard what really changes a person into a vampire. Well, I guess I'll have to have a crash course on vampires when I get back. Most of the stuff I thought before doesn't seem to totally fit anymore into my vision of what vampires are." I chuckled a little, running right beside her. This was going to be a LOT to take in.

Emmett let out a booming laugh. "Baby Tink, you're going to have loads of fun learning about what we are and what we can do. You've only really skimmed the surface of things." He said with a mischievous grin.

_Oh this is going to be seriously interesting with him involved._

"Ok, so venom changes us into this?" Esme nodded to me. "You said that it was working its way through Edward's blood. Does it change how blood smells or something?" I had to know to make sense of why it would be ok now as opposed to earlier.

Emmett piped in and took over. "Yes, it changes it, in a way. It basically burns the blood that is in your body and takes its place. It changes everything about you. It stops your heart, your skin becomes pale, your eyes change to red, mostly to begin with but if you're like us, they'll change to a honey-gold color. Another thing is that when we go out into the sun, our skin sparkles. It becomes like diamonds, almost. Our skin becomes very hard to the touch of humans and very cold as well. Our senses become heightened as well. We can see and hear things so much more clearly. Our sense of smell is extremely heightened as well. You will be able to smell EVERYTHING. And I do mean everything. Things you never ever thought you'd smell in your life. Human food will become repulsive to you. And you really won't be able to eat it anyways. Well you can eat it, but don't expect it to stay down. It will come back up. We have to force it back up because it will just be an intrusion in our bodies. Obviously you've noticed we can move in the blink of an eye. We can't sleep at all, so you're gonna have to fill your nights up." He wiggled his eyebrow at me. "Venom is also produced in our mouths. It helps us when we hunt. It also is a reaction to the smell of blood, which you may have felt happen earlier. It's all a learning process, Tink." Emmett smiled at me.

Holy fuckballs! That's a lot of shit to take in at once. But for some reason it was filing itself away in my brain. I guess that's part of the change too.

We were coming back up to the house and I could sense tension, most likely that someone was in pain.

_Oh hell, it's Edward!_

I ran into the house but was caught around the waist by someone. I looked up and saw that it was Jasper.

"Calm down darlin. It's just the change that has him in pain. I'm pretty much the only one that can feel his pain, but I'm guessing that you two are mates that came together even before the change and it has bonded you two in a huge way. You're able to tell when he's hurting. But you just have to take a deep breath. You can't let him know that you're panicking over this. I can feel your fear for him. Just take a few minutes to control yourself, then go up there."

I really didn't want to wait any longer. I wanted to be up there with Edward right now while he's going through this shit. I want to be able to hold his hand like he's done for me before when I was sick with the flu and didn't want to be alone while I felt like hell. He always made me feel better.

"Can you at least take me up the stairs until I'm ready to go in there? I want to be as close as I can be." I asked him, pleadingly.

"Of course, darlin. Come on." He lead me up the stairs to, apparently the hall where the room Edward was in.

There seemed to be some magnetic pull towards him. Like I didn't even have to have Jasper show me where he was. I sort of knew on my own.

"Take deep breaths and calm your nerves." He put his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. I guess he was trying to focus on my emotions.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "What are you doing?" He seemed seriously confused.

"What do you mean? I'm trying to calm my nerves like you said. Am I missing something?"

"Why can't I get a read on you? A little while ago I could feel your emotions but now it's like they're not even there. Are you doing something?"

_What the fuck?_

"I honestly have no clue what you're talking about." He raised an eyebrow at me.

"What's the problem, Jasper? I thought you were bringing her to see Edward?" Carlisle asked coming out of the room Edward was obviously in.

"Dad, I'm not sure how or why, but I can't get a read on Bella's emotions. It's like they aren't even there. I couldn't feel anything earlier when she woke up. But I felt it when she was running towards the house a while ago. I'm not sure what it is. Do you know?" Jasper asked still not looking away from me.

"What? You've never had a problem sensing emotions. How is that possible?" Carlisle was just as confused.

"Can you guys clue me in as to what the hell this has to do with why I can't see Edward?"

"I'm sorry hun. I just want to make sure you've got yourself under control…"

I had to cut him off. "Look, I'm fine. I'm just really anxious about being away from him. Can I please go in?" I was about to start begging if they kept me away from him much longer. I need him like a person needs air to breath.

"Come on in, dear. We'll talk about this more later. And we'll try to figure out what is blocking your emotions from Jasper." Carlisle led me by the small of my back into the room.

What I saw scared the ever loving shit out of me.

Edward was all bruised, and broken. The color was gone from his handsome face. There were cuts all over him. He just looked so lifeless. Which, I guess he kind of would since he was so close to death as it was.

I probably should have prepared myself better for this. I knew he was in bad shape. Although the memory of being out on the highway is a little fuzzy, I still remember him looking like he had been through the ringer.

But this was just too much to look at. He looked so frail and not like my strong, reliable Edward.

A small, strangled sob escaped from my mouth. Apparently since I can't cry anymore, that's all I can do.

"Is he… he seems like he's in a lot of pain. Is that the same thing I felt when I was bitten?" I asked quietly to Carlisle.

He sighed. "Yes, I'm afraid so, dear. It is quite painful but it will be over within a few days. Yours was surprisingly shorter than normal. It was about a day and a half or so. I doubt his will be that quick, but we'll have to keep a watch on him. I'm sure you will be in here with him most all of the time."

I nodded, not able to look away from Edward.

I wanted to go over there to him and curl up in his arms and fall asleep like we always did at night like this. I wanted the security that only his arms provided. Being so far away from him for so long makes me _crave_ that touch more than ever.

"Can… can I go and lay down with him? I just want to be close to him. I _need_ to be close to him." I was practically begging him now.

He came up beside me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Yes, you can. Just be gentle. You are extremely strong now and he is still not fully one of us yet. You don't want to crush him. It's an exercise in your control that we are going to have to work on more later but just be as careful as you can. For now, think of it as you're handling glass when you're around him. Even the slightest touch could break him."

I inched towards the bed where Edward was lying. His heartbeat became the only sound in the world to me. It was fast, much faster than it was earlier. But it was still like music to my ears.

I stood at the edge of the bed just looking at him. My need to touch him started to get the better of me. So I crawled onto the bed and scooted up beside him. Laying my head on the pillow next to him, I just stared at his beautiful face. I brought my hand up, ever so carefully, and stroked his cheek. He was still so warm.

I don't know if he knew it was me there, but his head turned towards my hand, as if to get closer to its touch. There was no other movement, so I looked over to where Carlisle still was in the room to see what he thought.

"It happens sometimes. And with it being your touch, he may know its you dear. Just keep doing things like that, maybe he'll know you're here and it will make him fight it out. You remember how it was to fight against the darkness; it's the same thing he's going through."

I then took his hand in mine and brought it up to my lips to kiss. I kept it there for a while, just to have it close to me. I hoped he could feel the ring still on my hand.

After several minutes, his hand gripped mine in what would feel like a death grip to a human. I made sure not to grip his back too tightly, but I squeezed it just slightly to let him know that I was here and that I wouldn't leave him.

There was an overpowering feeling of love at that point for him. Like subconsciously, we knew what was going on with the other. We were on the same wave-length. It was an understanding between us. Kind of like it always has been.

I brought his arm around my neck, so I could lay my head on his chest. Still holding his hand in mine, I brought it up to my face and started purring.

_Wait… purring? Whoa, didn't know that was part of the package. _

"It's because he's your mate, Bella. I can see the confusion on your face. I don't have to read your emotions for that one." Jasper's voice came from the doorway where he was standing. "Your whole being knows he's your mate, and your body responds to it. Most of us… purr. Yes, we seem to have a feline complex for many aspects of our lives, but you get used to it. It's a way that we connect to each other without using words or lots of touches. It's another way to say that you love each other. Don't be too freaked out about it. If you're gonna be ok up here, I'm gonna head down with the others. Alice and I were going to go hunting. The other two might tag along, but Rose is just being… well, Rose." He laughed. "Don't worry about her either. She'll come around eventually. I'll see ya when we get back, darlin." And with that, he was out the door and down the stairs.

I sat there and took that in for a few minutes. Who knew vampires could purr? It's always been thought that vampires were bat-like and never seemed that people would give them a second thought. People either made up the story to explain their own fears, or it was done by vampires themselves, in which case would be very smart. It would throw humans off of the trail of real vampires if it was cemented into people's brains that that's what vampires were like, not what they really are. Either way, humans couldn't be further from the truth.

I focused back on Edward. I was still laying there in his arm and just listening to his heart. Because that's all I really could do. I brought his other hand over so that it was resting with mine on my stomach. I wanted him to know our little Olivia was waiting for him. That she was still here with us.

I could still feel the warmth of him. It radiated from him through my body and felt like I had a heated blanket over me. _It felt good_. It felt like home. Warm and safe and secure. I thought he felt that way before all of this, but now it just felt magnified. _I love it._

I started purring again. Why? Because I can. And because it felt like I was laying my own claim to him, for some reason. That could be part of the mate thing they were talking about earlier.

I had heard how some animals lay claim to their mate by covering them with their scent. Maybe that's what I'm trying to accomplish. It could be something I'm doing without really knowing in my head. It could be my natural instincts coming into play.

Then I realized I was rubbing his hand on my face and then it hit me. _I AM marking him with my scent._ Ehh, whatever. We HAVE had sex before. We made a baby together, it's not like we're new to this. It just feels like a territorial thing to me. He's MY mate, he's MY fiancé, and he's the father of MY child. He's MINE and I want it to be known that I won't let someone else touch him.

_Jebus, I feel like a mama bear protecting her cub, or a lion fighting for its territory. _

I laid there for the rest of the night until I saw the sun peaking out from the horizon. I thought all night about these things and I didn't know what to really make of them. I didn't want to leave him alone but I wanted to ask them something.

"Carlisle?" I called towards the door.

In an instant, he was there. "What is it dear? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just… want to ask you or one of the others about something." I bit my lip nervously.

"It's ok Bella. You can ask me anything you need to. I won't judge you or think you're crazy. It's normal for you to have questions about what's going on. You can ask any of us anything. Jasper and I are the oldest in the house. But if it's something you're more comfortable talking to a woman about, Esme is always ready to listen. She's the mother of the house and treats each of the other four as such. She's the nurturing one. You don't have to worry, just ask."

Huh. Wow, it felt good to know I had those options. From my time talking to Esme earlier, I could tell she was one I would go to if I needed a female or a mother's advice. And Carlisle was so full of knowledge and was so compassionate. I don't even think normal parents were as wonderful as the two of them were. Jasper, I'm reluctant to ask him things. Although he's been nothing but kind to me, the thing about him not being able to feel my emotions is a little weird. So until that's sorted, I don't want any weird conversations with him just yet.

"Umm, Jasper mentioned last night that Edward was my mate. And that the… purring thing was normal for mates. But… is it normal to want to claim them like… I guess normal animals do? Is marking them with your scent part of it, or feeling like if someone else came along to take them away from you that you would literally rip them to shreds and burn them to ashes? I just feel so overwhelmed with emotions that make me feel like… I'm some sort of possessive psycho or something. Carlisle, I trust you. I have no choice but to. But, is this normal at all? Were the others this way when they found their… mates?"

"It's ok Bella. What you are feeling is perfectly natural for our kind. Yes, it's completely normal to feel possessive of your mate. That's how it is for us. We only ever really have one mate in our existence, so when we find them, it's an all-consuming feeling that our whole being sings for them alone. It's a connection that we share as mates that can't be broken.

"Marking each other with the other's scent is very much a part of it. It lets other vampires know that you have been marked and claimed as a mate and that you should not be messed with. Males are far more possessive than females are, my dear. So when Edward wakes, don't be surprised if he feels threatened by us and wants to protect you to the point that he'll try to kill one of us if we get too close to you. I don't want you to be alarmed when that does happen. Your connection with each other will more than likely be extremely deep considering your predicament. Being the parents of the _Una Potente _will make you far more drawn to your mate. It's caused by the overwhelming feeling to protect him _and_ your child.

"That is another thing that will make your bond to each other that more unbreakable. The fact that you will have your child together will be the strongest thing in the world for you to feel. It will make you feel like the strongest person in the world. If anyone were to come near your mate or your child, then they would probably lose an arm. That's how you will feel at times. Like even now. Your hand is still on your stomach. Most mothers do it out of habit to protect their child from something, subconsciously. It's the same way for you now. You want that child to be protected and nothing can ever hurt her. It will only ever get stronger once she is here. She may be the 'Powerful One' but she still needs your protection. You think you are possessive now… wait until she actually gets here." He laughed lightly.

"So I'm not crazy for feeling this way?" I asked.

"No, my dear. You are perfectly normal, like us. When I first found Esme, I was drawn to her for some reason. When she was brought into the morgue after her attempt to kill herself when her baby died, I was drawn down to that morgue. I found her and she was still barely alive and I was almost not in time to save her. But I'm so glad I did. She is positively the best part of my life.

"Rosalie was attacked and left for dead by her fiancée and I found her and decided to save her. She resents this life out of all of us the most. But she was out hunting one day and she came across Emmett when he had been mauled by a bear. She brought him back and asked me to change him. She saw something in him that she didn't want to let go. She was so very protective of him.

"Jasper and Alice were a slightly different story. Jasper's is one that is very long and you would have to let him tell it, but I did not change him. He was changed during the civil war and was trained to form an army of vampires. They were vampires that had no problem feeding from humans. Eventually, he was able to get away from that lifestyle.

"Alice doesn't know who changed her. She woke up alone and scared. She learned to feed off of animals on her own. One day she had a vision of finding Jasper and then coming to find us. She knew from her vision that Jasper was meant to be her mate. They have an amazing bond between the two of them. Some of it has to do with each of their gifts, but the trust and faith they have in each other is staggering. She has helped coach him through the adjustment of feeding off of animals. It has been the hardest on him since he had fed otherwise for so long. So they had one of the strongest bonds in this house. Once they found each other, they made their way to us and have been part of our family ever since.

"So, as you can see, we each have our quirks with our mates. But we are very protective."

Holy hell. I just stared at him, dumbfounded. That's the most I've heard him say yet, I think.

"You'll feel the other side of it when he wakes up. It's like magnets with most all mates. Don't try to second guess what you're feeling my dear. It's all part of the process. You'll see a lot of it when you're around the others more. Is there anything else you wanted to ask?" He asked.

Something was nagging at me. It was at the back of my mind but I wasn't sure if it was relevant.

"Will… he still feel the same as he did when he was human when he wakes up? Will he still love me the same way?"

"Oh my dear girl. Of course he will. Don't doubt his love for you. If anything it will grow by leaps and bounds when he wakes up. Don't dwell too much on the 'what if's right now. You'll only work yourself into a frenzy and we'll have to take you outside to calm down. You could lose your focus and hurt him. He's still not quite at the point where he won't get hurt yet. I'll check with Alice to see if she has an estimated time of when he might wake. Just stay with him and if you see any changes, let us know. I'll be back soon dear." He stood and was out the door.

Esme came in to check on him later in the day. Her motherly instincts coming out to shine. She was so concerned about how he was doing and how I was holding up so far.

After she left, I laid with Edward for a while longer, just listening to his heart and to his breathing.

Carlisle came back and said he noticed some changes in Edward. When I looked up at Edward's face, I could see them too. His face seemed more defined and sharp. His skin was a pale color now. And his skin, I had noticed while holding his hand was becoming harder.

"Bella, it will still be at least a day, I think, until he's awake. Would you like to go get yourself cleaned up and changed?"

He was right. I had been in these clothes for a few days and I needed to get showered before we delved into this again when Edward woke.

Alice brought some clothes in for me. I showered in the bathroom attached to the room Edward was in, so I wouldn't have to be too far away.

Once I was done in the shower, I dried my hair straight, and dressed in a dark grey sweated dress, black leggings, and dark grey, almost knee high, sweater Ugg boots.

_I would have killed to wear this when I was a human. So comfy_.

When I came back out into the room, I laid back down with Edward, pulling his arms back around me. This would be a time that I wish I could sleep. Being in his arms while I slept was so comforting and safe. It's the best place in the world to be.

I stayed there for the rest of the day and into the night again. Carlisle would come and go, and Esme came in again to see if I needed anything. I just shook my head no. I just wanted him to wake up. She stayed and talked for a short while about herself. Telling me more about her story.

"So you can see why I fill a motherly role in this family. I'm not trying to replace the child I lost. I could never replace him. But I can take on the part to be there for my other 'kids'." She had told me.

Early the next morning, I was still holding onto Edward's hand. I was wholly focused on him. Wanting to know if he was ok, telling him I was still here, vocally and mentally. I wanted him to know that he was going to be ok and we were still going to be parents. (Still something I need to ask the others about. As in 'how is it possible if no other vampire has ever been able to have a baby?') I would mentally tell him how much I love him, how much I miss him, how _much_ I can't do this without him.

Sometime during these thoughts in my mind, I could swear I heard something in my head. It wasn't anything that was coming from me. It felt like someone was trying to tell me something. I tried to focus on it as hard as I could but couldn't exactly figure out what it was.

It started nagging at me after a while. I wanted to know what the hell this was that was going on in my head.

I didn't tell any of the others yet. I wanted to see if it was something I could figure out on my own. Partly because I didn't want to rely on them all the time to tell me what I should and shouldn't do and so on. I also wanted to see if I could do something on my own, to prove to myself that I can handle this life. I know I have so much more to learn, but I want to try and figure out a thing or two for myself.

A bit later in the afternoon when Carlisle made his way in to check on Edward again, I was almost to the point of asking him if he could help me figure this out because it just kept going in circles in my head.

But something stopped me dead in my tracks.

A voice I have been desperate to hear since the night I thought I'd never hear it again.

**BELL. Where are you?**

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><p>Soooooo, who knows what's coming next? Anyone?<p>

Yes I know this is just mostly a lot of info in the story, but next chapter, we'll figure out some more about what she heard, and maybe why.

E.C. reading for this week 'Blood and Glory' by drotuno (lots of guns, lots of sexy Edward. nuff fucking said)

annnnnndddddd 'Diamond in the Rough' by lmlx8 (dom Edward, is a fuckhawt Edward. tehe. yeah i like it, get over it)

Until next time my lovelies. (probably late next week)


	7. Chapter 7

Hello again my peeps!

Ok, so it's friday, and i have more story for y'all. i'm also in the process of getting my other story ready to publish, but it'll probably be after this one is done. (i'll have to see what it looks like and if i've got enough done)

As per the usual, Beta'd by my lola (LaurieWhitlock. Check out her new story, 'Cowboys and Angels'. it's a Jasper and Bella story, just F.Y.I.)

And Twilight doesn't belong to moi. It belongs to SM

Once again, catch ya on the flip :p

Let's do this!

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><p>Chapter 7<p>

BPOV

I shot up from my spot on the bed to look at Edward's face.

His eyes were still closed, and I could still hear his heartbeat. So there was no way for his transformation to be finished yet.

_So how the hell did I just hear his voice?_

"Bella, dear what is it?" Carlisle's voice brought me back to the fact that he was still there with us.

I tried to find the words to tell him what was going on without sounding like a complete nut-job.

_You're hearing the voice of your fiancée when he clearly isn't awake yet! How the hell else is someone suppose to react to it when you tell them you're hearing voices?  
><em>

"Uhh, Carlisle, do any of you hear… voices? Like in your head?" I asked with trepidation.

"Bella, what do you mean? What voices are you hearing?"

Shit. There really is no way around this. Ok, suck it up and get on with it Bella.

"I think I heard Edward's voice. But he's not awake yet. So there has to be something else going on. I've been hearing these tiny, almost whisper-like, sounds since this morning. And I haven't been able to figure out what it means. Then just now I heard his voice, loud and clear. Am I going crazy, Carlisle?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment.

"No, I don't think you're going crazy, Bella. It may have to do with your powers. Can you hear anything else right now?" He asked with a puzzled look on his face.

I listened all around me for anything that couldn't be heard normally. I heard the birds outside the window, animals scurrying around the forest, Alice and Jasper talking downstairs, Esme was humming something outside that didn't seem to be too far away, Rosalie sounded like she was writing something and Emmett seemed to be down by the river playing around in the water.

Other than that, I heard nothing like what I had heard earlier or Edward's voice.

I shook my head at Carlisle. He would surely think something was wrong with me.

"Hmm. You were touching Edward when you heard it, right?" I nodded. "Touch my hand and see if you can do it again." He held out his hand for me to take.

I slowly reached out my hand to his and took it. I tried to focus on him and listen for any sort of voice or sound, but I came up empty.

"I can't hear anything. Maybe it was just wishful thinking. I want so badly to hear his voice and I probably imagined it."

He looked like he was deep in thought.

"I don't think that it's your imagination. We need to keep an eye on this to see if it happens again and when it happens. What I want you to do is try it again with him. Remember what was happening when it you heard it and try to recreate it." He observed.

Well that made sense, I guess. It seems like the best way to see if it can happen again.

I went back over to the bed and lay down in Edward's arms. Holding his hands to my face, I started purring again out of habit.

I wasn't hearing anything this time, so I thought about what I was doing during the time I heard it earlier. Before, I was telling him things, and thinking them. So I tried to do that again. I focused on that, and making it so we seemed to be the only ones in the room.

Then I started to hear it again. It was low, but then five words startled me.

**Where are you, my Beautiful!**

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed.

Carlisle, I guess he was right outside the room to give me privacy, came running back in the room.

"Bella, what happened?" He asked worriedly.

"I heard it again! I heard him. He called me 'my Beautiful'. It's one of his favorite nicknames for me. Ok, you didn't hear it, right?" He shook his head no. "And it sounded just like his normal voice so… What does that mean? Can I hear his thoughts or something?"

"I don't know dear. We will need to see if it works with other family members first to make sure. But if it's not working with others, it might not be that. We need to wait for Edward to wake up before we can be sure of anything. His power may have an influence on yours. We have no clue what any of your powers are suppose to be. There have been assumptions, but no one has been able to say for sure. We need to know what his power is before we can be sure of anything." Carlisle explains to me.

"What should I do? Do I try it with everyone else now, or do I try to do it again with Edward? Should I try to talk back to him?"

"Maybe… Let's try it with one of the others to see if it's possible. Who would you feel more comfortable with?"

Hmm, that's a good question. Jasper want to know more about my gift, whatever it is, and I know I can trust him. He's been really good to me. So has Esme. But Jasper seems to want to experiment as much as I do now. So it would probably be better to try it with him.

"Jasper." I said.

Within seconds, Jasper was in the doorway looking at us.

"Why'd my name come up?"

I motioned him into the room to sit on the floor with me.

"I want to try something. Since you want to figure out what my gift is too, I want to see if what we found out works with someone else. I want to see if I can read your thoughts."

A look of shock crossed his face. "Wow. Ok. That would certainly be one of the protector's powers. It would fit to anticipate what others around you are going to do next. It would be quite valuable. Let's give it a go."

We got situated and I looked up to Carlisle who had sat down in a chair near us to observe. "How do we do this? I was focused so hard on Edward and I have no idea if I can focus that way with anyone else."

"With that sort of power, it will become second nature to you. Just like hearing me speak now. It will be an automatic function. Just focus the best you can, and see if you can hear Jasper. You know the sound of his voice, so you would be able to recognize it in your mind."

Oh this is going to be interesting.

I focused on Jasper as hard as I could. I pushed everything else away from my mind to listen for those little sounds I had heard before with Edward. But I couldn't hear anything. We sat there for an hour with me trying to go at it from different angles, but nothing was working. I was becoming very frustrated. Along with a string of other emotions I wasn't sure why were coming up.

"Ah, there she is. I was wondering when you would let those emotions loose." Jasper said, I snapped my eyes open to look at him. "Whoa, what the hell?"

"What? What did I do?" I didn't know what he was talking about.

He had a look of total confusion on his face.

"As soon as your eyes opened, I was cut off from the emotions you were feeling. I've never seen anything like that before." Jasper explained.

"Are you sure Jasper? I've never known someone with your gift to be cut off from someone's emotions." Carlisle wondered.

"I'm positive. It's just like it was when I couldn't get a read on her before. Did you hear anything, Bella?" Jasper asked.

"No. Right towards the end there I was getting frustrated and then I was feeling a lot of other emotions that I shouldn't have at the time and then they just went away when I lost my focus on you."

Jasper and Carlisle both furrowed their brows. You would swear they were really related by how they act sometimes.

"This is very odd." Carlisle took in a deep breath. "Ok, Bella I want you to try it again. See if you can pinpoint anything you see, feel or hear."

I nodded to him slowly. This could end up being something I never wanted to know about.

I focused back on Jasper. This time I took his hands in mine and went through the same process.

After about half an hour, I started feeling some of the same things I did earlier. There were no voices. It was feelings. They weren't mine either. I tried to not let this go yet. I wanted to know exactly what the hell it was I was dealing with.

It was hard to get an exact target on the emotions, but most of them seemed to be positive. There was one though that snuck up and almost knocked me on my ass. It was pain. Immense pain. Like the kind of pain I just went through a few days before.

I pulled my hands away from Jasper's like I had been burned, and gasped.

"…You felt it, didn't you?" Jasper spoke up.

"What?"

"You felt Edward's pain. What he's going through right now. You felt it. I could sense that you were feeling more than your own emotions and then something huge hit you before you pulled away. It was Edward's pain that I let slip through."

"Wait, how did you know, Jasper?" Carlisle asked, becoming shocked.

"It was just what I was feeling from her when I could breach whatever was holding me back from sensing her emotions before. Somehow she is able to tap into my gift and feel the emotions around her too."

I sat there wide-eyed and gaping at him. _How the fuck am I able to do that?_

"What do you suppose it is that keeps her emotions from you otherwise?" Carlisle asked.

"I'm not sure. It could be anything… I'm going to go get Alice, and see if the same thing happens with her gift…" Jasper started to go to the door but Alice was already standing there.

"No need. I'm already here. So what's going on? Did you guys figure anything out?" Alice asked, coming further into the room.

"We're slowly learning. But not entirely sure what to make of Bella's gift. She could hear Edward's thought, somewhat. And she could feel some of the other emotions around the house when she focused on me. So we want to see if it's the same with your gift, sweetheart. Do you mind helping us with this?" Jasper explained to her.

"Oh! Not at all! I'd love to help. This is going to be so much fun!" Alice started bouncing on the balls of her feet. You would think this girl has an IV of caffeine going in her arm with the amount of energy she has.

She danced over to where Jasper was sitting and gracefully sat in front of me and held out her hands. I took her hands in mine and repeated the same process once again.

This time, it didn't take quite as long as it did with Jasper the first time. It was about twenty minutes later, and I was bombarded by images. Images of me Edward, and a little girl.

_Olivia_

I gasped as I saw them.

Me and Edward holding her in our arms not long after she was born, the three of us walking hand in hand through the woods when she's about five, her running around this house with the rest of the family.

And she looked… she looked absolutely perfect. She was so much like Edward and I. The bronze hair, that was the exact same as Edward's, I know what I saw from when I was changed was definitely hers. It flowed down her back in ringlets, like mine did so often. Her eyes were deep chocolate brown, like mine were. Her skin was the pale, creamy tone that mine used to be, but maybe a little lighter. She had my nose, Edwards face and jaw. My God, she was so unbelievably beautiful.

A sob broke free from my lips and I pulled my hands to my mouth, and Alice mirrored my motions. A look of wonder and excitement in her eyes.

"Oh God! She was perfect." I sobbed.

DAMNIT, why can't I cry? I hate that.

Alice wrapped her arms around me tightly and rocked me back and forth.

"Shh, it's ok honey. You'll get that soon enough. She'll be here before we know it." Alice soothed.

"What happened? Who is 'she'?" Carlisle asked.

I gathered my nerves up. And faced Jasper and Carlisle. Alice still had her arms around me. It felt nice to have the support.

"I saw… I guess it was visions that Alice had of Me, Edward and our daughter, Olivia. She was… amazingly beautiful. I can't wait to have what those visions showed. That's what I've always wanted with Edward. A family to run around with and love passionately. Alice, please tell me those were real?"

She took my face in between her hands and looked me in the eye. "Yes, they were real. Those were the first visions I've really had of your future. The only other one I've had was before you were changed when you guys had the accident that you would become one of us. And then there was the day you woke up and I had a glimpse of the 'powerful one'. But this is the first that I've actually seen you and Edward and your baby. And those were just small glimpses there too, but it was enough to see a clear future. Now that's not to say that something won't happen between now and then to alter them. But it's at least something. It's more than we had before. Don't worry too much. We'll be there for you guys, as long as you're willing to have us."

"Of course I want you guys in our lives. Are you kidding? Did you not see that vision? How happy we all were? I've never had a big family before. Neither of us really has a family anymore anyways. Edward lost his family years ago, and a couple of years back, my dad was shot in the line of duty. I have no idea where my mother is so it doesn't bother me as much. You're a real family. And I'd be so happy to stay with you all, if the invitation is still open."

It was Carlisle that spoke up next. "Oh sweetie, of course we want you to stay. We wouldn't feel right having you and Edward face what's coming, alone. We won't force you all to leave. It WILL be your choice, in the end, but we would never make you to leave." He said with a genuine smile.

It made me feel happy that we had somewhere to stay. But then something hit me.

"MONKEY!" I shot up from the floor and started pacing. "Oh my God, I forgot all about our cat! He's probably starved to death by now. And what about our apartment? We've lived there for over two years. What do we tell our landlord? I…" Alice cut off my rant.

"Bella, Bella! Calm down. We went to your apartment, and have been feeding your cat. We went by there the night of the accident to check on things and saw him by his food bowl. He's actually a really sweet animal. Most animals freak our around us. Carlisle, do you think we could keep him here, if Edward and Bella are careful around him? Cats don't usually have a really appealing scent to them, so it shouldn't be too bad. What do you think, Bella?" Shit, she talks a lot for a little person.

But that made me feel better knowing he was ok. I miss my little guy. Even Edward blaming things on the cat, I missed.

"It's ok with me. As long as everyone can be comfortable around it, I don't see why we can't have him here as well. Bella?" Carlisle looked over to me.

"Yes. I'd really appreciate it if we could. We got him not long after we moved in together and he's been a part of our family." I put my hands on my stomach. "Well, our growing family, now."

They all had sympathetic looks on their faces. But Carlisle was the one to speak up.

"Don't worry, Bella. He'll be awake soon. We'll have better answers then and we can move forward to help you prepare for the baby. Which reminds me, that I need to go see what other research I can do on the three of you. There could have been something I overlooked, but I want to be as informed as I can be. Will you be ok for a while here, Bella?" He asks.

I nod to him. "Yeah. I'm going to see if I can hear Edward again." And stood up to go back over to the bed, and lay down with Edward.

"Do you want us to stay in here for a while, Bella?" Alice asked from her spot still on the floor.

"Umm, yeah, actually. Since you two are the only ones with gifts, I want you guys around to see if we can experiment some more. I just want to see if you can feel anything from Edward," I looked at Jasper when I spoke, then turned to Alice, "or if you're able to see anything from his future. Or if it's just me that's blocking everything. It'll help us figure this out with all of us in here to work on it. And it's just the two of you with any sort of gifts, right?" I asked, really hoping and praying that Rosalie didn't have a gift and come in here and fuck up my mood and make me lose my focus with her viciousness.

"Yes, it's just us. I know what you're talking about, and don't worry. We'll sit over in the chair, so we're not in the way. Just act like we're not even here." Alice said standing and grabbing Jasper's hand and leading him to the leather chair that Carlisle was sitting in earlier.

I turned to face Edward and went back to what I was doing earlier when I heard him.

Alice and Jasper kept to their word; they were totally quiet and I DID sort of forget that they were there.

A short while after I laid down, I started hearing him again. This time he was a little more frantic.

**BELL, baby please! Tell me where you are! I need you beautiful!**

A sob left my lips again.

"Bella? Was it him again?" Alice asked quietly from in the corner.

I nodded, trying not to lose the… connection, I guess, I had with Edward so I could try to respond to him.

**Edward, baby, can you hear me?** I tried to ask in my head. I prayed he could hear it.

**Bells? Baby is that you?**

_Oh God! He could hear me!_

**Bell, was that you?**

_Wait, he could hear that too?_

**Baby, what are you talking about? **I heard from him again.

_SHIT! _**Edward, can you hear me? Tell me if you're ok.**

**Oh my God, baby! I've been looking for you for so long. Where am I? I can't feel anything but this burning fire all through my body. It hurts so much, Bells. **

"Alice? Alice, can you see anything?" I asked, trying my hardest to not lose him.

She looked like she was concentrating really hard, with her eyes closed, and Jasper holding her in his lap.

She shook her head. "No I can't see anything yet."

"Jasper?" I asked, without even having to really ask him. He already knew what I was wanting.

"I could feel him earlier, Bella, but right now… I think you're blockin him. It's almost like it is with you, but not quite as cut off. It's the most bizarre thing…"

Shit. Well, then maybe I need to try something else.

"Umm, what do you guys suggest?" I asked, looking at both of them.

Alice stood up and walked over to where we were on the bed and sat on the edge. She moved her hand over to us and looked like she was debating who to touch first. But she decided to touch Edward first, I'm guessing to see if it is really me blocking him from her visions.

The second her hand touched his arm, her eyes kind of glazed over. She was that way for several minutes, but I was starting to hear Edward's voice again.

**Bella? Who is that touching me? It feels like it's more than you touching me.**

"Jasper? Is she ok? Does this happen a lot?" I asked while I tried to figure out how to respond to Edward.

"Yeah, darlin. She's having a vision or more than one vision. Sometimes they're fast, other times they take a while for her to absorb. Just give her a minute."

I nodded to him, then turned my focus back to Edward.

**Yes, Edward. I'm touching you and… so is Alice- **I started, but he cut me off.

**Wait, who the hell is Alice? I don't know an Alice.**

**I'll explain everything when you wake up, well, actually Carlisle might be able to explain it better than I can, but I don't want you to worry. I know you're in a huge amount of pain right now. I was too. I went through the exact same. But it was to save you. Please don't be mad when you wake up. I love you so much.**

He was silent for a while and I didn't know if I lost him or if he was just letting it all sink in.

**Wait, Carlisle? The guy I talked to at the children's hospital? What does he have to do with any of this, Bells?**

**Edward, I promise it will all make better sense when you wake up. I'm still adjusting to things myself, but we'll be fine. I promise.**

**I love you, Bell.**

Alice yanked her hand back from Edward. There was no expression on her face. It kind of worried me when she wasn't bubbly all the time. That meant that something was wrong.

"Alice? What's wrong?" I asked, trying to hide any panic.

She then had a puzzled look on her face. Jasper came up behind her and tried to sooth her.

"Darlin, you gotta tell us what it is." Jasper drawled.

"… I… think we may have a timeline for when the baby gets here…" She said, still looking puzzled. Then I noticed her eyes were on me. More or less, my stomach.

"What? You're starting to freak me out, pixie. Tell me what's going on."

"Bella, have you looked in the mirror at all since you've been changed?" Alice asked, with what looked like a glint of mischief in her eyes.

_Oh not good._

**What's not good baby?**

_Motherfucker!_

**Babe, you're really starting to worry me now.**

**Umm, don't worry about it Edward. I'm talking to Alice and Jasper. I'll be right back. I promise. I need to go take care of something.**

**Bell, please don't leave me here. **I could just imagine his pout and his eyes begging me.

**I won't go far, baby. I just have to figure something out.**

**Ok. I love you Bells.**

**More than anything.** Then I took my focus away from Edward and turned back to Alice.

"Ok, so what the hell are you talking about now? No I didn't look at myself in the mirror. I figured I probably look like hell. I didn't want to see it. Why?" I asked.

Alice held her hand out to me. "Come on!"

_Grrrrr. Bossy ass pixie._

I took her hand and she led me into the bathroom attached to Edward's room. She pushed me in front of the mirror and forced me to look at myself.

What I saw, floored the hell out of me.

My skin was paler, my face was much more defined. I tapped my finger on the counter once and heard rock against rock.

_Whoa._

Then I tapped it again and chipped away a small piece of the marble counter.

"Oh shit." I muttered.

Then I looked back up into the mirror and saw my eyes. They were a bright red color and very frightening looking.

I brought my hand up to cover my mouth at how shocking it looked.

I looked further down my body and let out a squeal.

"HOLY SHIT!"

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><p>I know I'm leaving you guys hangin a lot. sorry! but it's how i can transition from chapter to chapter. I've already got most of ch8 done, so it may be earlier next week, we'll see.<p>

E.C. for the week: 'Fridays at Noon' by troublefollows1017 (completed. great story)

'Unplanned Perfection' by littlecat358 (completed story. loved it!)

I would wait all week just to read these two stories and am never disappointed. now I'm sad that they're done:( i followed both from the beginning and would recommened them to anyone.

Until next time peoples


	8. Chapter 8

Alrighty, peeps. I am up with chapter 8. Sorry I didn't get this out earlier. Me and this chapter were not meshing well. I had to rewrite half of it because I didn't like it. But I think I've got it to where I want it now….maybe. Lol

Anywho, big huuuuuuuuuuugggge thanks to my sorella, Lola (LaurieWhitlock) she has been the bestest this week. Dealing with my meltdowns (personal and with this story) and beta'ing 3 chapters for me. I loves ya mia sorella. Muahs

And as our usual little dance here goes, I don't own Twilight. *sigh*

We'll talk more on the flip.

Here we go!

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><p>Chapter 8<p>

BPOV

Under the dress I was wearing, was a very defined baby bump.

"What the fuck?" I breathed.

I slowly lowered my hand over my stomach and touched it. There was no give to it. It was firm and definitely there.

I rubbed my hand over the bump lovingly for a while. Just reveling in the fact that there was actually a child there. It was more real to me, being able to feel it now. I know I had seen visions and dreams of her, but this was affirmation that she was really on the way.

_And very rapidly._

"How is this even possible? I'm only a month along. How long do I have before she gets here? Alice what did you see?… Why the hell am I the only one talking?… Someone help me out here." I spewed my verbal diarrhea.

"Jazz, give us a minute." Alice said.

Jasper nodded and exited out of the room.

"Jazz?" I asked her.

"Yeah. It's his nickname most of us call him. Carlisle and Esme never call him that, but that's ok. They're our 'parents' so it's more of a 'sibling' thing." She laughed. "Well not sibling for me, but still. Don't change the subject, missy mommy.

"Now, first, you being a vampire, it will speed up the process of the pregnancy, obviously. From what I've seen, she'll be here within a few months. Not eight. This is going to fly by for you. And it will more than likely scare the hell out of you. It will probably take it's toll on your body too. It's hard enough on a human body, but with it going by so fast, it will certainly do that to you too. But we'll all be here for you." She put her hand to my face so that I would look at her. "And Edward will be here too. With all of us, you'll do just fine… I think…"

"Not instilling a lot of confidence here, pixie." I muttered, and I knew she heard it.

"Sorry sweetie. It gets jumbled up sometimes and some of the visions blur together. But we'll do whatever we can for you guys. But what I saw was choppy, and I had to piece it together. I had to take in the surroundings and stuff like that, but what I could tell, she'll be here not long after the first snowfall."

The first snowfall is usually around the end of November or the beginning of December.

"So you think December? It's what, still October, isn't it? That's really fast."

"I know. But that's what I saw. I'm not going to give you the details yet, because where's the fun in that, huh?" She laughed. I had to join her. Her laugh was infectious.

"I don't think I need visions to tell me that you and I are going to be close, do I Alice?" I laughed.

"No, you're exactly right. I can tell we will be too." She leaned in to whisper to me, "Don't say this to Rose, but you're much more… amiable than she is. She's not always that way, but she doesn't like outsiders. She'll grow to like you, but she normally keeps to herself. She hates what we are and feels like she shouldn't be here… she has her moments. She can be pleasant though sometimes. Just don't push her. It'll take time."

"It's a little foggy, but when I was human, I don't think she really liked me then either."

Alice sighed. "That's not unusual either. For her, everyone looks at her with awe. She's obviously beautiful, and sometimes if someone comes along and people look at them and not her, it wounds her ego. She likes to hold a grudge with those people. And I think it might have gotten worse when she found out you were pregnant. It's the one thing in the world that she wants most and she can't have it. That's why she teaches at the school. She gets to be around children all day and it makes her feel a little less like a failure, I guess. I shouldn't really tell you all of this, but you need to know it. Because I know she won't come out and tell you. But when she was a human, towards the end, she so wanted to find someone to have a family with. And she feels like she failed in her dreams to do so.

"And now that you're here and a vampire, and having your baby, it makes her more of a bitch. She has always looked through the books to see if there was a way for us to have a child, but of course there isn't. You being the mother of the powerful one, she resents you for it. I don't want you to look at her differently, but I just want you to understand her, somewhat…

"So, you guys are going to name her Olivia?" She went on to another topic.

_Note to self: Pixie knows how to distract._

"Yeah. We decided the night of the crash that we were going to name her that if she turned out to be a girl."

"What about a boy? I mean we obviously know that you're having a girl, but I'm just curious." She asked.

"Well, we were thinking about Shane. I kind of liked the sound of Shane Edward Masen. Edward has always hated his name, but not too many people have that name, so it's sort of unique in a way. But we didn't really talk that much about middle names… We were actually talking about baby names when we had the accident. But when we were talking about it earlier that night, we both said we wanted a girl… first. I guess it'll be our only, but that's ok with me. As long as she's ok, I'm fine with it."

"She will be perfect. Why don't you go back out there with her daddy and I'll go check with everyone else and see if they've found anything else out…"

"No need, Alice. I'm here. We need to go over some things and see if we can figure out what she really is." Carlisle said, motioning to me.

We both nodded and headed out of the bathroom, back into the room with Edward.

"Did you find anything out?" I asked as I sat on the edge of the bed with Alice beside me.

"Yes and no. There are no real definitive answers in any of the old books. Only supposed thoughts that people came up with that may or may not be true. But what I did find was that whatever gifts Bella and Edward have are protective ones. They are defensive gifts. The baby, on the other hand, will more than likely have both offensive and defensive gifts. Hers will be something we haven't necessarily seen before. It's going to be hard to narrow them down while she's growing, and being so young. Some of her gifts may stay dormant until later in her life. But it's unlikely that it will be anything we can't handle as she grows…

"There was one other thing that I found that was intriguing. It seems that her rapid growth won't be limited to her growing in your womb, Bella. She will grow at a rapid pace and probably reach adulthood within a couple of years, instead of eighteen…" Carlisle explained, but that little bomb he just dropped was going to have to be repeated.

"Wait a sec, you want to say that again? My baby's not going to be a baby for that long? Will she be…" I couldn't finish that thought. Just thinking that something could be… off about her, sent chills down my spine. Would that happen? If her body grows, will her mind keep up? "She won't have any… problems, will she?"

"If you're talking about mental or intellectual problems, then no. Everything should _grow_ together as it would with a normal life span of a child, but she will take only a few years to be a fully grown adult. She'll more than likely grow by the day, if not weekly." He turned to look at Alice, pointedly, "Yes, that means she will need lots of clothes. But you will have to rein it in some, Alice. She won't need to wear a dozen different clothes in a day. So I want you to at least _try_ to calm yourself when you're out shopping." He looked at her with hopeful eyes.

"Dad, you know me better than that…"

"Yes I do. That's why I said that. It's bad enough that you don't like for most of us to wear the same thing more than once, but this little girl will more than likely, in all reality, be able to wear things only once. So there's no need to get hundreds of outfits in any one size for her. She will grow out of each size, rather fast. But, yes we will have to be prepared for each phase that she grows into. I will pay for the essential things we need to get for her, but I want you to call me if you decide you're going to go overboard with this, Alice. I need to know how many credit cards to give you." Carlisle laughed.

"Whoa, wait. I can't let you pay for everything, Carlisle. That's so not fair to any of you guys…" I started, but he cut me off.

"Nonsense, Bella. I wouldn't dream of letting you pay for her things. You are part of this family now, and this is what I do for my family. Sure the others find ways of making whatever money they want to, but I still like to pay for things for them. Each and every one of us has money set aside that we probably wouldn't even need to touch for centuries. You and Edward will too, but this is how we have always done things. You and your family will not want for anything, and I don't want you to have to. Please let me do this for you three?" Carlisle pleaded with me.

I don't like people spending money on me. It makes me incredibly uncomfortable. Even when Edward and I first started dating, I hated when he would buy things for me to show me how much he loved me. I didn't need things, I just needed him.

But, this is a huge undertaking that Edward and I are going to go through. It's so much more than just a baby. This is going to be a total change in lifestyle. We're adding a baby, learning to live as vampires, having a huge family to support us… apparently in more ways than one, the added effects of dealing with a 'gift', and then our daughter being so powerful and growing up so fast… How are you supposed to deal with that?

You have to accept whatever support your 'family' is willing to give. You have to learn that it's not just about you. You're going to have to be willing to put your pride aside and let the people that care help out in whatever way they can.

I took in a deep breath and nodded. "Ok. If you guys are sure that you're ok with doing this… I guess I can be ok with it. Just please don't go over the edge and get the most expensive things. I don't want Olivia to think that's how we are. Or that it's an all the time thing and she'll get exactly everything she wants at every turn. I want her to appreciate what she has and be humble. I don't want her to feel like things are handed out on a silver platter. Can you handle that, Alice?"

She had an apprehensive look on her face, but I knew she'd never push too hard with stuff like this.

"Yeah, I can try. But do you know all the things you're going to need for a baby? There are millions of little things you HAVE to have. Ok, we need a crib, car seats, diapers, wipes, clothes, shoes, toys, stroller…" She rattled on without taking a breath.

"ALICE! Chill. Take a small breath there, and… maybe write down all this stuff so we can go over it later. We can go on the _Babies'r'us_website and see what all they have and narrow down the list. Is… there a room we can possibly… make hers? I hate taking up all the room in your house, Carlisle…"

"No need, Bella dear. There are two rooms on the third floor that are not occupied. You can make those yours, Edward and Olivia's. Decorate them however you want. You know you can go to Esme to help you out, since it's her passion to do that stuff. I'm sure she will jump at the chance to decorate a baby's room." Carlisle insisted.

I nodded. I knew how much Esme wanted a child when she was human and to have lost one is unbearable. So I know I will definitely recruit her to help me with this. And probably mine and Edward's room as well.

Maybe I could even ask Rosalie if she would like to help. That could help with her animosity towards me somewhat. It couldn't hurt.

"Ok, so was there anything else that you found out? Is there any way to pinpoint what my gift is yet? Or Edward's?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not, dear. We will be able to figure out more once he's awake." He motioned towards Edward on the bed. I turned and looked at him, and he looked just like the rest of us now. I'm guessing it won't be long.

"So if ours are defensive gifts, how do we protect her? If we can't fight someone off with them, then what the hell do we do?" I asked, trying to figure things out in my head.

"Your defensive gifts will be what protect her. There are more vampires out there that are gifted in so many ways. They could use their gift to harm her or you or Edward. Your gifts should help to take a bad situation, and turn it in your favor…" Carlisle was explaining, but we heard the sound of a heartbeat taking off like a shot.

"Ah, it's almost done. He should be awake soon. Alice, would you go get Esme and Jasper? And tell Emmett to be ready if he's needed." Carlisle asked Alice, and she bolted out the door and down the stairs.

"Is this how it usually is?" I asked Carlisle as I sat by Edward and ran my fingers through his hair.

"Yes it is, dear. Unfortunately. I know it's very unpleasant when it happens, but it's the only way sometimes. His heart will stop entirely, soon. I need for you to be ready to calm him down. He is liable to be very defensive when he sees us here."

"Ok. Should I try to… like, restrain him if he's out of control? I may be the only one who can if he's too out of hand." I asked with some concern.

"I'm not sure. On one hand, I would say no because he could be a loose cannon and could hurt you. But on the other hand, I would say yes because you know him so well and would more than likely know the best way to calm his nerves, so to speak. He would be more susceptible to your touch and voice. But I tend to lean towards saying yes. He seems like he's been searching for you the whole time he's been unconscious. So knowing you're there and safe would be better for him. Just be careful. We can be vicious when we first wake up in this new life and we don't know what we're doing. You remember when you woke up that you were defensive and didn't trust anyone. And that was understandable. But with you here, he may be ok."

Esme and Jasper came walking into the room. Esme went to stand beside Carlisle, and Jasper stood beside Alice, who had snuck into the room.

We stood there for a while, just listening to the steady, rapid heartbeat. I didn't know how much longer it would take, but I saw both Carlisle and Jasper push Esme and Alice behind each of them, protectively.

I turned to look back at Edward, and suddenly heard the heartbeat stop all together.

My eyes went wide as I waited. It could have been minutes, or hours, but the moment I saw Edward's mouth open and breath in, I was by his side in a flash, literally. I was touching his face, soothingly. Trying to calm him and let him know I was there.

"Edward? Baby, you're ok. We're both ok. I need you to look at me." I pleaded with him.

"Bell?" Oh dear lord, that is the sound of heaven.

"It's me baby. I've missed you so much." I told him, then he opened his eyes and I saw red irises, and I gasped.

On anyone else, they may have scared me shitless. But on him? They were… interesting. Intriguing. They weren't eyes I would shy away from.

He sat up abruptly and whipped his head around to where the others were. He let out a feral growl and was up off the bed, with me pinned behind him against the wall. He was standing defensively in front of me.

* * *

><p>Soooooo... I know this is a shorter chapter, sorry. As you read before, I had problems with it. I got halfway through it and a.)had a personal meltdown (I'm tired of being a gd doormat, so that had me off a little this week) , and b.)had another meltdown with this chapter because nothing sounded right to me. So I went back to the drawing board. So I'm hoping you guys like it this way. It was my best route to get to Edward waking up.<p>

(Ok, I'm done rambling.)

And stopping it here also let's me get into Edward's POV. so we'll get a little bit of him next.

Sidenote: who else has seen the shot of Rob from Cosmopolis? Ugh, so yummy!

And E.C. reading for this week: First & Ten by Nolebucgrl (mmmm football Edward…. Hells fuckin yeah!)

Whatever Works by Soft Ragoo (interesting name btw. Lol)

Secrets and Lies by Bella Scotia (this one's pretty good. Sad at times, but so well written)

Did anyone else read the end of MOTU?

Laters peeps


	9. Chapter 9

Hello lovely peeps! Ahh don't you just love summer?… when the heat index is already 105 and it's only the start of June… yeah, no. One thing I hate about the south, the humid ass summers. Oh and just a little rant, wtf is with people on the news that say: 'oh get out there and enjoy some summer fun in the heat.' and the next segment they're saying: 'we're looking at triple digit heat indexes for our area. So don't stay outside for long and keep your pets inside.'… uhhhhhh WHAT? Give me a flippin break here. Tell me one thing, but don't counteract them with another, ya douche.

Ok, rant over. Lol

Hope everyone here in the U.S. had a good Memorial Day. (Love my bestie, Amy)

Let's see… Ah yes, usual, I don't own Twilight. SM does.

Love my Lola(LaurieWhitlock) you're the bestest as usual. (pray for me Lola. My hellacious weekend is about to start. Bleh)

Yay! Edward's awake! Let's see what happens.

Let's do this!

Chapter 9

EPOV

_Damn it, my throat is burning like a motherfucker._

"Edward, please, calm down. They're not going to hurt you." I heard the most beautiful sound in the fucking world.

I had been hearing her voice in my head while I was burning. But now? It was an utterly blissful fucking sound.

When I had first opened my eyes, what I saw was the rare beauty that had been the center of my world. Except I didn't see the rich, chocolate brown eyes I was so used to seeing. They were red. But still beautiful, somehow.

But when I looked at those eyes, I heard something else in my head. It wasn't my thoughts or words, but I couldn't figure out who the hell's they were. So when I looked around the room, I saw four other people. One of them I thought I had seen before, but it was kind of fuzzy right now.

But at the time, I only saw them as a threat. And I had to protect my Bella. So I pulled Bella behind me and, for some weird ass reason, I felt like an animal that was protecting it's mate. I've been extremely protective of Bella before, but this felt like… life or death to me, in my head. Like I had to protect her at all costs from any and all things, even if it was a tree limb.

_This make no god damn since!_

But I also saw the other men in the room, in a protective stance in front of two women as well.

_Wait, are they protecting them from me?_

I'm hearing all these weird things in my head. Like, someone wants to tell me something, but they're holding it back. It feels like the inner monologue of several people.

**I hope he doesn't hurt Bella. He would never forgive himself.** One voice came into my head, that sounded like a female's voice.

**He's way too wound up. He's gonna have to calm the fuck down on his own or I'm gonna have to help him with it.** That didn't sound like the first one because it was male… and southern…

**Oh, Bella looks so worried. I hope she can reach him and calm him down. She'll be so upset if she can't do this herself. **Another female voice came into my head, but different from the first one as well.

**Edward, please remember me. Please let it connect and calm down. He's such a good doctor, and would have done so well at the children's hospital.** I know I've heard that voice before. But I can't quite remember…

"Carlisle?" I said, then slapped my hand over my mouth.

_Holy shit! That didn't sound like me. _

I heard a bell-like laugh from behind me.

_Fuck, I'd kill to hear that sound for the rest of my life. _

I looked over my shoulder and saw Bella smiling up at me while she was holding onto my shirt.

"What?" I asked, forgetting the sound of my own voice, just to hear hers.

"I did the same thing when I first woke up." She laughed again.

I reached around and pulled her in front of me, into my arms. I breathed her in deeply and just reveled in it. But for some reason, I could smell her scent so much more fully now. There was a beautiful aroma about it. Freesia, strawberry, and something else I couldn't exactly think of. It was such an amazing smell. And completely Bella.

"I missed you so fucking much, beautiful. I was so scared that I had lost you." I whispered to her.

"I know. Don't worry. We're here and we're going to be fine. Carlisle and his family have been wonderful. Please don't try to attack them. They're not going to hurt us. They saved both of us. But he does need to explain what's going on, to you. I've already had my crash-course in it, but I'll be here with you. I promise." She whispered back to me, very soothingly.

_Christ, I want to listen to her voice all day long._

I could feel her shift slightly to look over my shoulder.

"Jasper? What's with the look?" She asked to the other guy behind me.

I turned to look at him too, but was still a little protective of Bella.

_Hmmm, I wonder why the hell it feels so overpowering…_

"I think you're blockin him again, Bella. I could feel it earlier, but right now… It's gone." The man with wavy blonde hair said with a very southern drawl.

_Wait a god damn minute. That sounds just like the voice I heard earlier in my head. What the fuck is going on?_

"Sorry, Jazz. I don't even realize what I'm doing. We've gotta get this figured out. It's going to drive me nuts not knowing." Bella said to him.

I saw his lip twitch a little.

**She calling me Jazz now. I'm so gonna get Alice for this one. **I heard in my head.

"Wait, who's Alice?" I asked, looking around to the two other women in the room.

A short, pixie-like girl stuck her head out from behind Jasper, with a huge grin on her face. "Hi Edward." She waved cheerfully at me.

_Ok, she's bubbly._

"Hold up, how'd you know her name?" Jasper asked.

"I heard something in my head, I imagine it was you, somehow and her name was there… How am I hearing these things? What are they anyways? It sounds almost like…voices." I asked, just now understanding that I'm actually hearing voices that I really shouldn't be hearing.

_Aw fuck, I'm going crazy now. _

"Well fuck me dead…" I heard Bella mutter behind me.

Uh, Bells… if you haven't noticed, you kind of already are…" Alice piped in from behind Jasper.

"Watch it, pixie." Bella narrowed her eyes at Alice, while Alice just laughed.

_What the fuck have I missed?_

"Why don't we all sit down and talk. This is going to take some time to explain." Carlisle said, gesturing to the bed for us to sit.

I grabbed Bella by the waist and sat her on my lap, then noticed the bulge of her stomach.

My hand went to her belly and rubbed it reverently.

"Oh my god… how long have I been out? You weren't even close to showing when…" I stopped because it was hard to piece together exactly why I was unconscious.

"Edward, son, what is the last thing that you remember from before you woke up?" Carlisle asked me.

"Umm… well it's kind of sketchy right now. But, I think we were on a date, and I remember talking about the baby…" I needed to remember this shit. So I thought about it for another minute or two, then all sorts of images started hitting me. But it didn't look like it was through my eyes. It looked like someone else was there and looking at it.

But seeing these images made me remember the whole thing.

I saw us at the restaurant, dancing, me proposing, Bella telling me about the baby. Going down to the piers and walking along them, then getting in the car to go home. Us talking in the car about baby names and us laughing and smiling. Then I saw the car stalled car in the road, me trying to stop the car, but swerving and then rolling the car and hitting the tree.

_Shit. I didn't even realized I had flipped the car._

"Oh god." I buried my face in my hands. Then pulled Bella to me and just held her. "I'm so sorry, Bell. I tried to stop the car, but the roads were so wet and the brakes locked up on me… How did the baby survive? I thought you were dead. There was no way that the baby could have survived with the blood-loss and trauma."

"Edward, I came upon the accident when you and Bella were lying in the road. I made a split second decision to save you both and brought you here. If you've noticed a lot of differences since you have woken up, there is a reason for that… I had to change you both into vampires to save you." Carlisle explained.

I barked out a laugh at that. There was no way that I was a vampire, or that vampires even existed.

I looked around the room and saw that no one else was laughing at this absurd notion. Even Bella.

_What?_

"Are you being serious right now?" I asked, but looked at Bella for confirmation.

She looked into my eyes, her now red eyes, boring into mine for me to understand.

"Oh shit… So what does this mean exactly?" I asked, hoping someone could give me an answer that would make some sort of sense.

Carlisle went on to explain to me what we were, why he had to change us, how long I'd been unconscious, and about the powerful one.

_Ok, I'm officially worried sick. Why can't I puke?_

He then also explained that Alice could see the future, and that Jasper could sense and manipulate emotions.

_That is the coolest fucking thing in the world._

Then he told me that Bella and I would also have 'gifts' since we would be the parents of the powerful one.

"Is that why I can hear things in my head? It's like I can hear you guys talking, but your lips aren't moving." I asked, trying to make sense of what the hell I'm hearing.

Carlisle looked to be deep in thought for a while. I didn't want to disturb him, so I waited patiently for his insight.

Finally, he looked at me, but didn't speak.

**Can you hear me right now Edward?** I heard, what sounded like his voice.

"Yes."

**You can read my thoughts? Did you hear or see anything of what I was just thinking about?** He thought.

"Yeah, I could hear some of it. But you were… thinking too fast and it was hard to keep up. What's this suppose to mean for me?"

"It means you are a mind-reader. You can hear people's inner thoughts and see what goes on in their heads. It's a very powerful gift to have. I don't think I've come across one before in my three hundred years." He told me.

"Wow. So, wait a sec. Who was seeing the accident and everything from that night?" I asked. That was one thing that really confused me.

Alice looked up at me from her spot on the floor next to Jasper. She raised her hand slightly and said, "That would be me. I saw it before it happened but didn't know what to make of any of it. I had never met you or Bella, but I knew you would be a part of our lives. I saw you both like us, so when I saw that Carlisle had come upon the accident, I texted him and told him to change Bella, and bring you both here."

I nodded. "Well, what about Bells? What's her gift?" I asked.

Carlisle was the one to speak up. "We're not exactly sure what Bella is yet. We have been trying for the past couple of days, but there is no definitive answer yet. She has been protecting herself somehow from either of Jasper and Alice's gifts. But she was also able to use whatever her gift is to see and feel both of their gifts. She was able to hear your thoughts while you were being changed as well. So it's something we are going to have to delve into more in order to come up with an answer. She could be anything."

I looked down at Bella. "Can you hear my thoughts now, babe?"

She shook her head. "No. it took me forever to really be able to hear you. And I had to be touching you. I was focused so hard on you when it happened."

"But you're touching me now… why wouldn't it still work?" I asked.

She got that sad, defeated look in her eyes. "I don't know."

I grabbed her chin to make her look at me. "Hey, don't do that. I don't want to see your self-doubt rear it's ugly head. It'll take time, beautiful."

"Edward, I feel like I'm the weird one, here. I can do certain things at one point, but at others, I'm a blank sheet to them." She gestured over to Alice and Jasper. "This 'prophecy', or whatever, says that we're suppose to have gifts that are defensive. How am I suppose to protect Olivia if I don't know what the hell I'm doing? And she's gonna be here… SOON. Alice said it would probably be right after the first snowfall. It's still October now. Edward, I'm only about five weeks, or so, along."

"Bella, I can call one of our cousins to come down here. He can sense what gifts a vampire has. If we can't figure this out, would you rather I give him a call and see what he thinks?" Carlisle asked.

I saw Bella's eyes widen and then nod her head, emphatically. "Yeah. I'm tired of guessing. I want a definite answer. I want to know how to use it."

Carlisle nodded and stood up. "I'll give Elezar a call and see when he can be here at the earliest. Don't fret, Bella. Why don't you all take Edward out to hunt, so that the burning in his throat can subside."

_Well damn. I had almost forgotten about it._

"Oh shit. I was so focused on Bella that I didn't feel it as badly. Does that happen usually?" I asked.

"Not really. It's always at the forefront of our minds when we first wake up. But you seem to be able to handle it, somewhat. Bella could as well, but once she was out in the woods, I knew it would start to take over her thoughts." A woman with caramel colored hair said. "I'm Esme by the way."

I smiled at her. She seemed so much like my own mother.

I saw Carlisle exit the room. Leaving the rest of us to talk some more.

A few minutes after Carlisle left, a huge, and I do mean huge, beast of a man can into the room.

"Well look who's awake. Morning sunshine!" His booming voice filled the room.

"Emmett, take it down a notch, would ya?" Jasper complained to the hulk.

"What? It's not everyday we get a new brother." Emmett said, then looked to me. "How's it going, Eddie boy?" He stuck out his hand.

"Don't call me Eddie and I'll be just peachy." I joked, but shook his hand.

**Bahaha I love this dude already. This is gonna be awesome.** He thought.

"What exactly is gonna be awesome?" I asked.

"Whoa, holy shit, dude. You heard that?" He asked with amusement and mischief in his eyes.

"Oh hell, Emmett. Don't torment the poor guy. He's just starting to adjust to what we are." Jasper said.

"No way. If he can read my thoughts, then this is going to be even better than when I got all those emo kids around you and you went ballistic." Emmett said while rubbing his hands together.

"Yeah and if you ever do that again, paranoia won't even be half of what I'll throw your way, you dick." Jasper shot back.

I saw Alice look over at me with a small smile on her face.

**Don't worry. They're always like this. You'll learn to love them, too. Jazz isn't so bad. And Emmett is just a big kid. Rosalie is the one that we all worry about. She can be a bit… much sometimes. She has already had her run-in with Bells. **She thought to me.

A low growl escaped me when I saw how rude this Rosalie was in Alice's head.

_This shit's gonna be interesting to get used to. _

"Hey, calm down. Look at me." Bella said with authority in her voice.

I looked down at her again and saw the love and sincerity in her eyes. She trusted these people. I'm not sure if I totally trust them yet, but I'm willing to try.

I relaxed some, but was leery of meeting this Rosalie bitch.

"I'm sorry babe. I just don't like how she treated you." I told her. She looked at me with a confused look on her face.

She then looked to Alice for clarification, and I saw Alice mouth 'Rose' to her. Realization hit her and she looked back up at me.

"Don't worry about her. I'll handle it. It's me she has a problem with the most." She told me.

_And this is suppose to make me feel better?_

"God I missed you." I said, then crashed my lips to hers. Feeling her hands reach up and weave into my hair.

_I think I may have missed this more._

Her kisses seemed more intense now. Her tongue, her taste, everything felt like so much more.

We heard a throat clear behind us, and we broke our kiss. We turned to see Alice and Jasper there with sheepish grins on their faces. And Emmett and Esme were trying not to laugh.

"Alright kiddies, let's get you fed so we can get some more talkin in. There's still a lot for you to know Edward. Come on, follow us." Jasper said, then he and Alice turned for the door. Bella and I followed behind them, down the stairs.

Walking through the house, I saw how massive it was. And spacious. Lots of light colors. I also noticed tons of windows through the house. Huge floor-to-ceiling windows.

Bella never let go of my hand. The need to always touch her, in some way, was palpable, so I had no plans of letting go.

When we were out of the back door, I inhaled the air around me and it felt…wonderful. It was refreshing, but now I could also feel the burn in my throat even more. Like the fresh air brought clarity and my focus back on what I needed to do.

Bella tugged on my arm to get my attention.

I saw that Alice and Jasper were already across the river that was in the back yard. And I looked around to see nothing but lush forests, hear animals of all kinds, the fresh air of being in the middle of nowhere, it seemed. And the calming sounds from the river flowing through the backyard, made me wish for sleep.

_Too bad I can't sleep. Damn it…_

I wish I had a place like this. It seems so peaceful.

Bella tugged on my arm again and started walking down the steps. We made our way towards the river, and before I knew it, we were on the other side, standing beside Alice and Jasper.

"… That was cool as fuck." I said to myself, but the other three busted out laughing. But Bella's laugh was the one that I chose to listen to. I could pick out that sound out of millions of people.

Jasper and Alice took off into the trees and Bella nodded her head in their direction telling me to follow.

We run through the woods and they explain to me what hunting is all about and the best ways to do it. I can see in Jasper's mind the ways he's hunted in the past and they seem easy enough to follow. He's also telling me about what kinds of animals are best to hunt. Big game seem to be the usual for the Cullens.

Once we stop in the middle of the woods, miles away from the house, we take in our surroundings and Bella automatically smells something to go after.

"Bells?" I whisper to her.

She motions for me to follow her, and I caught onto what she was smelling. We made our way to a large boulder overlooking a mountain range. There, standing on the edge, was a large mountain lion.

_Oh it smells so damn good._

Bella backs away slowly and I took up a position in a crouch. I slowly make my way towards the cat, without making a sound. And my instincts took over total control of me.

I saw the mountain lion spot me, and take of towards the woods. I chased after him, but he didn't get too far before I was wrestling him to the ground and sinking my teeth into his neck.

The taste of blood going down my throat… there were no words. It extinguished the burn to a dull ache. That, I could handle.

I remember them talking about how different animals tasted differently to each of us. But to be honest, I could live off of mountain lions for the rest of my life. I got lucky Bella found him that close by.

When I went back looking for Bella, I caught her scent easily and found her drinking from her own mountain lion.

_I guess we both got lucky._

Seeing her like that, somehow had me in awe. She was beautiful as the predator that she was right now. She was utterly perfect.

She looked up at me when she sensed me staring at her, and smiled.

_God how I've missed that smile while I was asleep._

She finished up quickly and made her way over to me. But when I saw her speed up and jump at me, I quickly caught her as she wrapped her arms and legs around me and kissed me deeply.

I loved these kinds of kisses with her. So deep and passionate. It seems so much fuller and intense, now that we're vampires.

I could hear thoughts coming up behind us and automatically went on the defensive, but once I knew it was Alice and Jasper, I backed off.

_I'm going to have to work on not being so jumpy._

"Hey, uh guys! Elezar's already here in town. He was in Seattle for business, so he's on his way to the house. Let's go get us some answers." Jasper said.

I looked at Bella and I saw excitement in her eyes. She was ready to get answers about herself.

Most of you have probably already guessed what Bella is. I'm making her gift a _tiny_ bit different. So we'll see what Elezar says in the next chapter. Tell me what you think her gift will actually be. Any, thoughts are good. And tell me if I should keep going with the story. Sometimes I feel like this story isn't working like I want it so I need input.

E.C. for the week: Love Like Winter by MandyLeigh87 (retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I like it. I think it's got an interesting plot to it. If you don't like it, then :p lol)

And, Aha Shake by TeamBella23. (there are no words. This story has me in stitches every time I get an update. Totally worth the read if you like funny and different.)


	10. Chapter 10

Hiya! So, it didn't take quite as long to do this chapter as I thought it would. (Thank the baby Buddah.) Lol

Anyways, we're gonna get some serious goddamn answers here people! Woohoo! I'm nervous about this chapter, but please remember, I'm not modeling them all exactly like SM's original characters. But I am definitely expanding on Bella's and Edward's abilities. I am giving them my own little spin to them, but it all will go with the story.

The usual housekeeping is going on: My Lola is awesome.

And I don't own Twilight. That's all SM's

And I'll see you guys on the flip.

* * *

><p>Chapter 10<p>

BPOV

We walked into the back door of the house to see Carlisle, Esme, Emmett and Rosalie talking to a man with brown hair, the same eyes as the rest of the Cullens, and looked to be about thirty or so.

"Bella! Come meet one of our cousins, of sorts, from Alaska. This is Elezar." Carlisle motioned for me to come over to where they were.

Edward held my hand and I pulled him along with me. When we were beside Carlisle, I held my hand out to Elezar. He shook my hand, then had a perplexed look on his face as he stepped back beside Carlisle.

"…Carlisle, you didn't tell me everything… she is obviously pregnant… it's not possible." Elezar said, never taking his eyes off of me.

I felt Edward wrap his arm around my waist, protectively.

"Elezar, this is why I called you. I didn't want to tell you over the phone. And yes, this is what you think it is." Carlisle told him.

Elezar looked to be in total shock right now. But then walked up to us slowly, and… actually bowed.

_Umm, ok…_

"It's a pleasure to meet the parents of _Una Potente. _We've never believe that it would ever happen, but seeing you now… there is very little argument." He stood back at his full height and still looked perplexed.

_What the fuck._

"Uhh…Thank you?" I said it almost as a question. "It's a pleasure to meet you too. I'm glad you could come here on such short notice."

"Oh, it's no problem at all. Carlisle… you have one the most rare creatures here in front of you. It's hard to reach her, but… I think I've got her. But I want to know what all has happened and what she's been able to do before I'm completely sure." Elezar said.

So we went into the dining room and sat at the huge table. It was a lovely, heavy, antique, cherry wood table with matching chairs.

_Holy shit. These have to be about as old as Esme is. If not older._

She told me how old she was and with her being changed around the turn of the 1900's, it could easily be from that era.

Carlisle and I told Eleazar what has happened. Along with interjections from Alice a few times to help us, we get through it and Eleazar was totally baffled.

"This is even more than I thought. So, Bella is the one who doesn't know what her gift is?" Eleazar asked.

We nodded and he looked at me. It looked like he was processing everything in his head.

But when he spoke, I was totally shocked.

"She's the Great Shield. She is the protector. That's why no one can breach her mind. It's protecting itself. From what you've said, she only opens up her mind when she expands her shield around someone. Bella, it's something you will have to work on, but it seems you've done a little bit of it already. But at your greatest power, you'll be able to protect as many people as you want, and of your choosing. Meaning if the people you want to protect are amongst those who you want to protect them from, then you can selectively put your shield over whoever you choose to. Your gift works to protect your mind and anyone else's mind that you want from an attack. There are those among us that have gifts like Edward, Alice and Jasper. Those gifts that get information, if you will, from your mind and use their own gift on it. Alice would use your decisions to see your future, Jasper would work on your emotions, and Edward would hear your thoughts. But with you protecting your mind, no one can infiltrate you. Your mind is essentially Fort Knox. And you are the only one with the key. I imagine with practice, you wont even have to think about it with these three here. "He motioned to Alice, Jasper and Edward. "But it will take work. And you have time for that.

"But, on to the baby. The reason it has survived, is because your shield protected it as well-"

"Her." Edward and I interjected.

Eleazar looked at us, completely shocked. "You already know what it is? I thought you were only a month along when you were changed?"

Edward and I shared a look with each other, smiling.

"Yeah. We've both kind of had 'visions' of her in our unconscious states. And Alice has already had her own visions of her. I've seen it, and she's perfect." I said.

"Hold on, you actually saw her? Like really saw what she will look like?" Edward asked me. I nodded. "You guys didn't tell me about that. I want to see it. Alice?"

Alice was sitting next to me, so I was sitting between her and Edward. She got that glazed look in her eyes again, and I knew she was going back through her visions of Olivia.

I watched as Edward; no doubt, saw the same visions of us with Olivia. He was totally focused on what he was seeing in his mind, and I saw his lower lip tremble slightly. Then a sob tried to break free from him when his hand flew to his mouth. He had an almost pained look on his face. Then he turned to look at me with such adoration. He grabbed me and held me to his chest.

"She's going to be perfectly fine, Edward. You saw the same thing I did. It's what we've always wanted. Although… we wanted a house full of kids, I'll be perfectly content with this little angel. As long as she's happy and healthy. One is just fine with me. Are you ok?" I asked him in a hushed tone.

He nodded into my shoulder. "I just never thought that the glimpse I had of her when I was laying on the highway would be true. She was the most perfect thing. Graceful, beautiful, full of life, and absolutely adored you. The way she just fit into your arms… I could have cried at how perfect you two were together. It's the only other thing in this entire world that I've wanted more than anything… apart from you." He said in a low, strained voice. Then I tightened my hold on him. I would be a bawling mess right now if I were still human.

I heard Carlisle clear his throat beside us and remembered we weren't alone.

"As soon as we're done, we'll leave you two to have some time alone. You've been apart for long enough. But let's get back to this, shall we." We both nodded. "Alright then. Eleazar, you were saying?"

"Oh, yes of course. Well, Bella, your shield protected her when you were being changed. It's part of why we never understood how a baby could be born to one of us. A vampire's body won't allow it. I'm shocked to see that your body is compensating itself to the growing part." I lowered my hand down to my baby bump and rubbed it. It made me a little self conscious that it was so damn visible. "But I guess this will be an obvious learning process for all of us.

"Bella, what was going through your mind after the crash?" Eleazar asked.

I lowered my head. I hated thinking about it. I could have, _should have,_ lost the two most important things in my life. But seeing as I have forever to live, it won't soon be forgotten.

"I thought about… protecting Olivia at all costs…trying to stay alive for her. Trying to stay alive for Edward. I knew Edward would be an utter mess if he lost me and Olivia at the same time." Edward reached over and gripped my hand tightly and pulled it to his chest. "But I made a resolve in my mind that I would protect her however I could… Why, is it important?" I asked, suddenly wondering what that had to do with anything.

"Your shield was already working with your mind and body. The shield was originally only supposed to be a defense for the mind. I've personally never seen a shield before. Much less one such as yourself. I've only ever heard of there being one or two in the world. But they are secluded and don't get involved with the things our world contains. They know of the Volturi, but run from them for fear of being used. Which is what the Volturi do. They collect gifted vampires. We also need to keep your existence a secret for as long as possible. If they get word of this, they will come for you, and bring the entire guard with them. Even the wives. It will look like a united front to seem like they are more than the power-hungry dictators that are. It's not just Olivia you will need to protect, it's yourselves, also. You two are the rarest kinds of vampires. And pretty much the most powerful ones. Edward's gift will help you know of any intentions that are not honorable or truthful. If they come for you, Edward, you will be the only one that can know of their inner truths.

"Bella, you will be the most prized possession for them. You will be the one who can stop their advances if they bring Alec, Jane and Renata. Alec and Jane are two of the most dangerous vampires. They look sweet and innocent, but are deadly together. Jane can make you feel the most horrible pain imaginable. But it's all in your mind. Alec can cut off all of your senses and make you completely defenseless. You would be a sitting duck if you weren't protected. Renata is Aro's personal shield. Although she has to be touching him for it to work. Her shield can only hold back few things, but he would rather be slightly protected, than vulnerable in any way. She came to him after I left Volterra. But you will be able to withstand all of that. Your mind is yours to protect. Some have also said that your shield will be able to physically protect you as well. It's something I've never heard anyone else coming across. But it's said that the Great Shield will be able to do that also. But we don't have someone here to test that theory right now." Eleazar explained.

_Holy hell._

"Ok, that's a little intense… So, basically, I could protect Edward's mind as well if he was standing near me? Or Alice or Jasper?" I asked, trying to sort this out in my head.

"Yes. Let's say, you all are… in a fight in the city or something along those lines. If there is an enemy for each of you to fight, and you're all paired up in a fight, you would be able to shield each person in this room, and leave the other vampires at the mercy of whatever mental attack is happening. You personally, will never be left vulnerable. But it will take practice to get it to work around the ones you want it to be around. We'll be glad to help out. I can bring the rest of the Denali's down and we can work with you on this. The more people that can help, the better. And that will give you an opportunity to try to cover all of the Cullens with another group of vampires around. The only other thing I've ever heard the Great Shield would be able to do is reflect whatever gift is used on them back at whoever used it on them. Not use the gift on them, but… essentially making their gift backfire on them. I'm sure Kate would love to have a crack at this kind of exercise. She'll be one that we can test out the physical aspect of your shield, Bella. If she touches you, she can electrocute you just by touch. There aren't many in the world that has physical abilities like that, but they are out there. Which means you have to be prepared for them. Siobhan has also been visiting us, so maybe I could ask her to join us, if she's free. She can manipulate you to do things she wants. Have you do things her way. It's quite a powerful gift. She tries to stay off the radar from the Volturi. They would swoop her up in a second if they found her. She would be a huge help in preparing you, Bella. And she understands the need to be away from the Volturi's sights. She would keep you safe as long as she doesn't come across them, herself. Any questions?"

"Can vampires get headaches?" I asked, rubbing the sides of my head. This is so fucking surreal. How the hell am I suppose to protect myself from that kind of shit, much less eight members of my family?

_Did I just refer to the Cullens as my family? _Why the hell not. They've been more supportive than my mother ever has been, so yeah, I guess they're family now. Family is people that take care of each other and support them, help them.

I heard a few low laughs from around the table and couldn't help but laugh myself. "Sorry, this is just… a lot. I don't know if I'm ready for all of this." I looked into Edward's eyes with a little bit of panic.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm here, and so are the Cullens. You said it yourself that they have been so helpful already and that they're going to be there for us. We're not going to be alone. We've got a group of people who are willing to go through this with us. So stop worrying so much." He said, then kissed my nose.

"Awww…" I could hear Alice beside me, like she was watching some chick-flick.

We turned back to Eleazar and Carlisle. "Edward's right, Bella. We're here to help you both out. Both with your powers and with Olivia. Don't let the fact that we aren't family hold you back…" Carlisle started.

"No, Carlisle, you are family now. You saved us, saved our baby, you've let us stay with you. You're letting us decorate a baby room and our own room. You've helped me with what little I've been able to work on my gift, and you've all been there for us. And I don't know how we'll ever be able to thank you enough for it all, but I'm eternally grateful to all of you." I told him, and felt Edward nod beside me.

I saw Esme put her hand over her heart like she wanted to cry out of joy. She stood up and ran around the table to hug Edward and me. "Aw, my babies." She was one of the reasons this group of people felt like a family. She was the mother none of us had left. And Carlisle, while he was a confidant, he was also the father. And Alice… God, she was the sister I always wanted. Jasper, he was such an amazing brother and friend. And Emmett seemed like the big jokester of the family. The big, huggable teddy bear of a brother. But then that left Rosalie, who seemed to be the ice queen of the family, but that would have to be dealt with later. She can't hold a grudge forever, can she?

"Well, Carlisle, I'll leave it up to you all if you want me to call them to come down. I'm going to excuse myself to hunt. It's been over a week and if I'm going to continue to be near the human population, I'm going to have to do it soon. I hadn't expected to stay as long as I had in the city. But I'm glad I have now. It's been so wonderful meeting both of you. I hope this information I've given you two will help you better understand. Both of your gifts are extremely invaluable. I'll talk to you all when I return." With that, Eleazar excused himself from the table and out the back door to the woods.

"What do you think, Bella? This could be a great practice for you to test out your gift and Edward's as well." Carlisle asked.

I thought for a moment and felt Edward pull me into his side. I tried to focus on him and put my shield around him. I leaned my head against his shoulder and reached my hand up to touch the back of it to his cheek so he could hopefully see what I was thinking about.

I heard an intake of breath and felt Edward stiffen slightly, then relax as he held me tighter. He obviously saw my thoughts.

**Edward, do you think we should do this? I'm scared to death that I could hurt someone with this gift. It wasn't much before, and now that I know I'm this powerful, I'm afraid I'll freak out and hurt someone.** I thought to him.

**Bell, you can't be afraid to protect yourself. Or Olivia. The best way to be sure of any of this is to test it out, practice. I'll be right beside you through it, baby. And if it's someone that Carlisle trusts, then I don't see a problem with it. As long as it's a 'controlled environment', it might be easier than doing trial and error out in the real world if we came across someone. We can do this.** He thought, then kissed my temple.

"Woah. Did you two just totally have a private conversation without talking?" We looked over to Emmett.

"Yeah." I said.

"Holy fuck. Eleazar wasn't shitting us when he said you guys were powerful. Pops, have you ever seen anything like it?" Emmett turned and asked Carlisle, who had a very mesmerized look on his face.

"No Emmett, I haven't. This is extremely curious for you now, Edward. Can you do that with anyone else?" Carlisle asked.

"I don't know, I haven't tried…" Emmett cut Edward off.

"Ooo, I want to try! This'll be fun." Emmett said, rubbing his hands together.

He was looking straight at Edward with a mischievous look on his face. And I felt Edward go rigid beside me. Then I saw Emmett's hands do a fist pump in the air, and him hoot and holler.

"Woohoo! Eddie has a sense of humor! This is awesome." Emmett said.

"I'm afraid to ask…" I looked up at Edward.

"Trust me; you don't want to know right now." Edward said.

Several of the others laughed, but of course, Rosalie was off in the corner, glaring at me.

_Geez, what's her fucking problem?_

"Who?" Edward whispered to me.

_Shit! I keep forgetting._

"Later. So I guess we're ok with having Eleazar bring the others down here. If they're willing, then I'm more than happy to have the help. I just don't want them to feel like they have too." I said.

"Bella, I will talk to them myself and explain things to them. If they decide they don't want to help us, then that's fine. But I have no doubt that they will be here in no time. They have always supported our way of living, since we taught them of our ways." Carlisle explained.

I nodded. "…Ok, let's do it then."

We waited until Eleazar was back and told him we'd like the rest of the Denali's to come down to help. He and Carlisle went off to make the call, while the rest of us talked.

We really had no problem talking to each other and learning more from each other. But Rosalie was still glaring at me. I had just about had enough of her shit now.

I could actually feel my anger rising because of her bitchy ways, and standoffishness.

"Bella, calm down. Whatever it is, don't do it." Jasper said. Obviously it's one of the times he's able to feel my emotions. But I can't focus on that right now.

"No, Jazz. I'm tired of feeling like the eternal outsider by her." I said, pointing at Rosalie. "If I'm going to be a part of this family, I don't want to feel like shit because she obviously has a problem with me. I'm not going to be made to feel like her personal pariah. I'm not going to stand around and keep pretending that it's not bothering me. Stop glaring at me, or get over whatever grudge it is you have against me. I can't be around this kind of shit right now." I said, getting up and walking out the back door to sit by the river.

I know, from what Alice told me, that she resents outsiders. And that some of what her problem is stems from the fact that I'm having a baby, and that I'm a vampire, having a baby. I understand wanting something like that, but to make someone feel like they shouldn't be around doesn't make for a great impression. Right now, I only see her as a raging bitch that has resentment issues.

I was sitting there, watching the moon dance across the water when I heard someone behind me.

"I'm fine Edward. Really." I said, not looking backwards.

"It's not Edward." I heard, what I could only figure was Rosalie, behind me.

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><p>So what do you guys think of the ability explanation?<p>

E.C. for this week: 'The Man in Black' by prettykittyartist

And 'Mates for Eternity' by xxLuAshxx

Review please!


	11. Chapter 11

Heya peoples! Hope everyone's doing ok. Not a lot to add for this a/n, so I'm gonna get you guys to the story.

The usuals again, Lola (LaurieWhitlock), my beta, is awesomeness. Muuuaaahhs

And I obviously don't own Twilight. Grrrrr

Okie dokie, here we go!

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><p>Chapter 11<p>

EPOV

I watched as Bella walked out of the room, and out the back door. I knew that the thing with Rosalie was upsetting her, and I didn't know what Rosalie's problem was either. I couldn't focus on everyone at once, so it was going to take some time to work on it. But I hadn't made the venture into her mind to see what her thoughts were.

But as I was getting up to follow Bella out the back door, Rosalie stopped me.

"Let me, Edward. She's right. I need to be the one to set this right with her now."

I just looked at her and tried to look into her mind. She felt bad and realized how bad she was making Bella feel.

I nodded and watched her follow Bella out the back door.

BPOV

_I was sitting there, watching the moon dance across the water when I heard someone behind me._

"_I'm fine Edward. Really." I said, not looking backwards._

"_It's not Edward." I heard what I could only figure was Rosalie, behind me. _

I turned my head to look at Rosalie as she made her way to sit down beside me. I didn't know what she wanted, but if she was going to come out here to give me a hard time, she's going to get herself hurt. Because I'm seriously not going to listen to her if she's just going to attack me.

She sat there for a moment, presumably collecting her thoughts.

"I'm sorry… for making you feel that way. I really shouldn't be so contemptuous towards you. I know you didn't ask for any of this. None of us did. But… I think I should tell you how I became a vampire, myself."

She then went on to explain about her life before she was changed, her fiancé and how he attacked her and left her for dead. And how Carlisle found her and changed her to save her.

"Yes, I have many days when I resent the fact that Carlisle found me. But I also have Emmett, and that's the only thing that keeps me sane… And the fact that I was so desperate to have a child of my own when I was a human, does make me feel bitter that you're able to be the only vampire in history to be able to have your child. It's the reason I became a teacher. So I could be around children all the time, and be able to, in a way, 'mother' them, while I help them learn. It's the closest I'll ever be to having children around me. And I do the best I can to help them learn and grow. In some ways, it helps me. But in others, it just makes me think of what I lost. Royce was too much of a dick to be any sort of father. So I don't know what would have happened had I married him and had his children. I never knew how deep his drinking and rage went until that night. I wish there had been another way for me to get away from him… but I guess there was another plan for me. It still doesn't make me feel any better about being robbed of the chance. But I got my revenge on him…" she trailed off and I couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, Rosalie, you didn't…"

"I most certainly did. That son of a bitch got what was coming to him. You don't rape and beat a woman to within an inch of her death and get away with it. Carlisle understood why I did it, but still didn't condone it. He told me it was my choice, that I had every right to get back at him, but he would leave it up to me to do what I thought was fitting… and I did.

"And, I guess, you having this… unbelievable opportunity to have this child makes me feel like I did when I was changed. And when you first came to the school to teach, I saw how happy you were, and human. I saw the look in your eyes when I would hear you talk about your boyfriend and how much you loved him. I wish I had had that when I was human too…"

"But you have Emmett… How can you want to go back? Aren't you happy with him?" I asked. It didn't make sense to me.

"Of course I'm happy with Em. But I wanted to be able to find him when I was human and leave Royce behind and grow old with Emmett and our kids and grandkids. I've always had these thoughts of seeing our own kids if we'd been human…But it's just wishful thinking."

"But you found Emmett so many years after you were changed. You would have been a middle aged woman by that time. If it hadn't been for you becoming a vampire, you would have never found him. I can see how much he loves you, and I can bet that you love him just as much. Don't bring yourself down with one thing when you were at least able to find the other thing you were looking for. You're lucky that you found your mate in him. And… haven't you two thought about adopting? You could have a child that way." I asked.

"We've thought about it, but with Jasper's control slipping sometimes, we didn't want to chance hurting a baby with him around. And before you even say it, yes we've tried being away from the family and we just can't stay away for that long. We all have a bond with each other and we're really a family. And we've been around each other for so long and we're just so used to everyone being around all the time. And Esme knows what I'm talking about. She went through the same thing, basically. She understands how I feel when I see a mother and her baby together when we're out somewhere. I know, it sounds like a double edged sword and, I guess you could say it is. But I'd give anything to be able to go back and have the life I've always dreamed of. But I know I can't, so I make do with what I have. I know it's not a substitute, but it's what I have to work with.

"And I guess I just want to say that I'm sorry if I'm being such a total bitch. It's not that I hate you. I envy you."

Ok, I wasn't expecting any of this. But I guess now is as good a time as any to ask her.

"Thank you for explaining that to me Rosalie. I understand you so much better now. But I would like to ask you if you would like to help with the preparations for when Olivia gets here and be a part of her life?"

I heard a slight sob come from her, then felt her arms around me. "Do you really mean that? After I've been such a colossal bitch?" She asked as she pulled back.

"Yes, of course. I don't want you to feel left out of any of this. I'd never want that. You, as much as anyone else deserves to have this kind of gift. And I want you to be able to share in it with us. I don't want you to feel like we don't want you anywhere near her. You'll be… her aunt, and…" I was cut off by another bone-crushing hug from her.

"Why are you so understanding, Bella?" I heard her whisper.

"Because I don't want to make anyone feel like they won't have anything to do with this whole process or be in her life. This family has saved us and helped us out so much. So I at least owe that to everyone. Everybody in there has been like family to me and it means more to me than anything. Both Edward's and my family were already gone. We were both only children so it's so good to feel loved again by family. And I want you to be included in everything. Will you?"

"Of course I will, Bella." We sat there for a few moments, then headed back to the house.

When we walked in the back door, I saw that everyone was doing their own thing.

Carlisle and Eleazar were talking in the dining room, Esme and Alice were making new arrangements of flowers for around the house, and Edward and Emmett were playing chess while Jasper observed. As I looked closer, I could see that what Jasper was observing wasn't the actual game itself, he was watching how Emmett and Edward played the game. He could see that Edward was reading Emmett's mind when he was thinking of his next play. I knew this could wind up being interesting.

I watched on as they played chess, and couldn't help but laugh when Emmett got mad when Edward was beating him.

_Come on, that shit's funny._

Carlisle and Eleazar made their way over to watch the madness as well. Carlisle leaned down and quietly told me, "Eleazar talked to his family. They will be here late tomorrow. Then we can start working on your ability some more."

I nodded at him. This was going to be educational.

"Damn it, dude! Can't you just switch off the mind reading shit?" Emmett bellowed.

Edward snickered at him. "Uh, no not really. The longer I'm 'awake', the more I can hear and it doesn't actually stop. Sorry my man."

"That sucks. Tink? You come play this guy. He can't read you that well. It'll be the only way that it's a fair game." Emmett whined.

"I think I'll pass, Emmett. It wouldn't matter if he could read my mind, or not. I suck at chess. You're looking at the wrong person."

"What about Ali? That should be a more fair game." Jasper suggested.

"Oh, I'm so in!" Alice yelled from the kitchen. Then she danced her way into the living room and took Emmett's seat.

It actually was one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life. They each moved so fast with each play, that it was hard to keep up with the game. But before we knew it, they were done, and Edward had won.

"I want a rematch!" Alice complained.

We all just laughed at her exuberance at wanting a rematch. But what do you expect from Alice, though?

"Alright, sore loser. Let's go again." Edward conceded.

They ended up playing eight more times, into the next day. Before we knew it, we heard a car coming up the driveway. And then we heard five sets of feet coming up the steps. Carlisle was at the door before they could even knock.

I was shocked to see just how beautiful the five women that walked into the house were. There were three very stunning blondes, a striking red head, and a gorgeous brunette. I felt a little inferior with them in the room. It was one thing to have Rosalie in the room, she was one stunner. But having six women almost as beautiful as her around was a huge hit to my self confidence.

Carlisle exchanged welcomes with the women, then ushered them into the house. When they turned to the rest of us, the strawberry blonde one's face lit up.

"Who's the sexy beast?" She asked to no one in particular.

"Aw, Tanya, you know that means so much to me that you think that." Emmett said, while putting his hand over his heart and pretending to wipe a tear from his eye.

We all laughed at his silly antics.

I heard a slight growl somewhere behind me. And I knew it had to be Edward.

"Bite me, Emmett! I'm talking about mister sex on legs over there." 'Tanya' said, motioning behind me.

Emmett made a gagging sound. "No thanks, Tan. I think I'll pass on that one."

Then she was suddenly on the move towards Edward, with lusty eyes, and I saw red. As she passed me I made a move to go after her and felt small arms around my waist while I was snapping my teeth at this Tanya bitch, growling and hissing the whole time that whoever was holding me back.

"Bells, shh, don't do something you'll regret later, honey. Calm down." I heard Alice mummer in my ear. She must be the one holding me back. I didn't know for sure because I never took my eyes off of Tanya.

She had darted behind Edward, hoping he'd protect her. "Who the hell is that crazy bitch?" She asked, pointing at me.

Grrrrrrrr!

"Oh, she did not just call me that. Alice, let me go! I'm gonna rip her blonde hair out!" I struggled to get out of her hold, but there was sudden clarity when Edward stepped in front of me and grabbed my face so I would look at him. I didn't stop struggling, but I at least, had something to focus on, rather than that… uurrrrggghhh!

"Bell, you need to calm down baby. Alice is right. I saw it. Don't do it, babe. You'd end up hurting Olivia." That stopped me dead in my tracks.

I looked up at him and saw sincerity, and worry. He knew I didn't want Olivia hurt in any way. And I'm guessing he heard what was in her head and didn't like it either.

"Ok. I'm fine." I said. And he looked down at Alice, and then she let me go.

"Would someone please explain what the hell is going on here?" Tanya, the ever-present mouth, asked.

"Tanya, I suggest you control your hormones in my house. Not every man is as willing to sleep with you as all of your past conquest…" Carlisle started, and then I butted in.

"And I suggest you don't mess with the pregnant lady's mate. You'll lose an arm that way." I said, pointing to my stomach and Edward.

They all looked at me like I was insane.

_That's just fucking perfect. _

"You're pregnant?" Tanya asked, stating the obvious point.

"You're so observant…" I said, sarcastically.

"_Una Potente _has been conceived." Carlisle stated calmly.

"WHAT?" they all shouted.

I suddenly felt a jab in my stomach. "Oomph." I staggered back a little, not expecting anything like that to come from me.

_Christ, she's gonna try to kill me with all this crazy shit going on._

"Bella? What is it, sweetheart?" Esme was beside me in a flash.

"Ugh, Olivia just kicked me. I just wasn't expecting her to be doing that so soon. I think she just doesn't like all the stress and shouting going on." I told them.

"Edward, why don't you take her to sit down, and we'll be in there in a minute." Esme said, motioning to the living room.

I saw Edward nod, and guided me into the other room. But I could still hear what they were saying.

"Carlisle, this is insane. There's no way that _Una Potente_ could possibly be conceived, or born into this world." One of the women said.

"What do you call that, in there, Kate? She is a vampire, AND she is pregnant. And the baby is very much still alive. Kate, you've seen, yourself, what happens to a pregnant woman when she is changed. It obviously hasn't happened to Bella. They both have gifts, powerful gifts, which only further confirms our suspicions. I didn't explain all of this before you came down, because I didn't know if you would come then. But we needed Kate and Siobhan to help us with Bella's gift. She needs all the practice she can get. And the more she knows about how to work her gift, the better equipped she will be. Please help us with this?" Carlisle asked.

It was silent for a few moments. I guess they were making their minds up.

"Fine. We'll help. What do you need us to do?" Kate, I'm guessing, said.

"What? Are you all insane? That… woman tried to attack me, and we're just going to look the other way like nothing happened? What the hell?" Tanya, and her nasally voice complained.

I leaned into Edward's neck. _Ugh, I need earplugs._

I heard Edward snicker beside me.

"Tanya, if you can't support this family, then I suggest you head back to Denali. Carlisle will not tolerate this kind of negativity in his home. Especially when you were the one to go after another's mate." Eleazar said in a commanding tone.

I heard her huff in frustration.

_Guess this bitch is gonna be staying._

"Bells, be nice. I know you were justified, but I don't want you getting worked up. It seems to affect you and her like it would in a normal pregnancy. It's gonna be enough that you're going to be working with your gift soon. I don't want you to overdo it." Edward whispered in my ear.

I closed my eyes and nodded. I heard the others walk into the room, but I didn't want to move from where I was yet. I love being right here, in the nook of Edward's neck.

_Smells fantastic._

I felt him rumble with silent laughter.

"Aww, you guys are so nauseatingly cute. Don't you think Jazz?" Emmett said as he walked in and sat down.

"Jazz, if you value your life, you won't answer that." I heard Edward say, looking over at Jasper, who held his hands up in defeat.

"You three are just like brothers. First the chess game, now this. I'm afraid to know what you all will get into in the future." I said.

Alice sat beside me and picked up my hand, and I was suddenly seeing stunts, pranks, wrestling, and countless other acts that the three of them will get into. Even Carlisle was in on a few of them. I couldn't help but laugh at it all.

"Carlisle, I thought you were a pacifist? Since when do you get down and dirty in the trenches?" I couldn't help but ask.

Carlisle got a sheepish look on his face. "It's only in cases like this, when my family is at stake, or the like."

I smiled at him to let him know it was ok.

"Alright, well everyone, this is Edward and Bella. Bella, Edward, this is Kate, Irena, Tanya, Carmen from Denali. And Siobhan from the Irish coven. Kate and Siobhan are the ones that will be using their gifts to help us." Carlisle introduced them.

"It's nice to meet you. Thank you for coming here to help with this. This will really help me understand my gift more." I said gratefully.

"You're welcome, dear girl. Now, tell us what exactly has been going on." The brunette, Carmen, said.

Carlisle went into the whole explanation with them. Everything from the crash, to us both waking as vampires, to us finding out about the 'Powerful One' and our involvement, to our powers and so on.

Once he was done, the women were sitting there, all with shocked looks on their faces. It was finally Kate that broke the silence. "So, we're going to experiment, basically, with her gift?"

"Yes. I would like for her to get as much exposure to others that have gifts, without exposing her to the Volturi. As long as we can keep it to the ones of us that are here, then we should be ok. I just hope none of us come into contact with any of the Volturi, any time soon." Carlisle explained.

"Alright, so where are we going to start this exercise?" Siohban asked in her lovely Irish accent.

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><p>E.C. for the week: 'The Mafia Mistress' by rayne24 (Yes! I was so happy with what happened this week!)<p>

And if you're not reading 'There Will Be Freedom' by johnnyboy7.… READ IT!


	12. Chapter 12

Hi peoples! Ok I know this one's short, but there is a method to my madness. So don't get angry. But I hope you guys like it!

All the usual song and dance: Lola (LaurieWhitlock) is awesome. Muahs!

And I don't own it, SM does. I'm just messin around with the characters.

Read on!

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><p>Chapter 12<p>

BPOV

We were standing in the back yard of the Cullen home, with everyone. Edward was next to me, the other mates were standing together behind us, Kate, Irena and Tanya were standing together with Carmen, and Siohban was standing with Eleazar.

"Alright, Bella. Are you ready to try this?" Eleazar asked me.

I nodded.

"Ok, so Jasper, Alice and Edward can only get a read on you _sometimes_. What I want to try is to get you to expand your shield over them. It seems that you've done it a little over your experimenting, but I want you to try to add people one at a time as you go. But first, I want you to try it without touching anyone. That has obviously been how you've able to do it before, so I want you to work your way outward. The way that things have been described before were times when you're completely calm, collected and feeling safe. That's been the only time Jasper has ever been able to read your emotions without touch. Alice has apparently only had visions that are few and far between of you without your touch, as well. And it's seemed that your connection to Edward has only been by touch also. We're going to get you to where you don't have to touch them at all for them to read you. Now, from what I've heard of the shield's power, you should be able to feel it around you. Can you?" Eleazar asked.

It was hard to say. I felt something, but if it was my shield, I had no clue. It felt like… a stretchy cloak of some kind. It was almost like a blanket was protecting me. Wait, that has to be it. I can actually feel it all around me. Not just my mind, but it's mostly centered on my mind. I feel it the most there.

"Yeah, I can. I didn't know what it was before, but now that you've said it, I can actually feel it around me." I said kind of awestruck.

"Perfect, Bella. Now, I want you to grab hold of your shield, with your mind. See if you can stretch it at all around you. Don't push too hard, just see if you can push it around." Eleazar coaxed.

Well how the fuck do I do that? Hmmm….

Ok, well, it seems easy when you say it, but trying to 'grab' something with your mind, isn't all that easy. It's like chasing after something. It keeps being just out of your reach. But as I stand there messing with my shield, I feel a slight push against it. It feels like something is pushing towards me. Then I realized something and my eyes fly open.

"Who was that just now?" I ask, looking around.

"What do you mean, Bell?" Edward asks from behind me.

"It felt like someone was pushing against my shield. I could feel it pushing inward. Who was trying to get to me?" I asked.

"That was me, darlin. Sorry, it just looked like you were having trouble focusing on it, so I tried to see if I could calm you. Apparently, that didn't work. But you could actually feel me pushing against it?" Jasper asked.

"Yeah. I was trying to grab it and push, but I felt it push back."

"Hmm… Alright, no one tries anything yet until she's got a better idea of what she's doing. I want her focused." Eleazar said to everyone.

I went back to trying to push at my shield. I think I can get a feel for it a bit now. It's almost like pushing an elastic band. You know those kinds that you exercise with. I can feel it give if I push against it with my mind. Huh, never thought it would be that easy. It's so weird though.

_I wonder if others have this kind of 'band' around them…_

"I don't think I do, Bells." I heard Edward, right behind me.

_Huh?_ I turned around and looked at him. I felt my shield snap back to being around my mind, alone.

"Don't give me that 'huh' shit. You're the one doing it. Not me." He smiled at me with excitement.

Wait, what the… "I did it?" I asked stupidly.

His growing smile told me my answer.

I jumped up and down looking like Alice, clapping my hands. I jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly.

"Wait, how did I do it? I didn't try to put it over you. I don't even know what I really did." I said, looking back over to Eleazar.

"Bella, your mating connection to Edward means that you are inordinately more in sync with him. You'll put your shield over him without even the faintest of thoughts about doing it. But now that you're working with your shield, you're obviously pushing it to him to include him in it. Now I want you to try it again. If you cover Edward, that's great. That means it won't be as much work to get him under it." Eleazar said.

Alrighty. I focused back on my shield again. This time I had a hold on it. And I felt like I could actually push it away from me. So that's what I did. I pushed it away from me and I could actually feel another person there. It felt like there was a 'beacon' attached to that person. But it also felt so familiar to me. Like I've known that person forever.

"You have, baby. Just keep holding on to it. You're doing so great, Bell." Edward said. He sounded like there was a little bit of wonderment in his voice. "There is, sweet girl."

"What are you seeing, Edward?" Eleazar asked.

"…Everything from the past few days. I'm guessing that's what you're remembering most clearly, Bell. I'm also feeling Olivia." Edward said, and I heard so much love in his voice when he talked about Olivia.

Hold up…

"You're actually feeling her, too?" I asked as I turned to look at him.

"Yeah, the way you feel her. Like… a warm bundle of pure love centered in my stomach, an absolute, desperate need to want to hold her, the feeling of unadulterated happiness. I didn't know those feelings quite as well as you do, but now I understand how much you already love her. And how you protected her in the accident. I was so excited and happy before, but now I can see a whole new side of it." He said, as he put his hands on my stomach, over where Olivia was sleeping. Thank god for that little miracle, or I'd never be able to focus as much doing this exercise.

I leaned up and pecked his lips. Then I heard a huff behind us, and knew it had to be Tanya. She's the only one who would have a problem with us being affectionate.

I looked back over to our family and saw Jasper with his hand over his mouth, his eyes shut and Alice rubbing his back, trying to soothe him.

"Jazz? What's the matter?" I asked.

He looked up at me, and he seemed overwhelmed. "I just felt so much comin from the two of you, just then. That kind of love you have for your daughter was amazin. I hadn't been able to get a read on you for so long and it was just a surprise to feel it." Jasper explained.

"Woah. Edward? Did you know that I got it as far as him? Or could you not feel that?" I asked him.

"Well, I could read some of his reactions, but I didn't pick up on how much it affected him. I was trying to focus on you at the same time." Edward said.

"I want to try again. I want to see how many I can get under my shield. I've got a much better grasp on it. I wanna see how far I can push it. Tell me when I've got you under the shield, so I know who is who." I said. I felt a little pumped.

Eleazar nodded, so I went back to my experimenting. I could now sense that there were people under my shield. They felt like small flickers of light. So I pushed further. I felt someone else under it.

"That's me, Bells." Alice said.

I nodded and went on. I pushed harder against the shield and it was starting to feel like it was getting stretched thinner and thinner. But it didn't give.

"You got me, Tink." I heard Emmett, and kept pushing on.

"Me too, Bella." It was Rosalie that time.

I suddenly felt my shield snap back to my own mind, and I gasped.

"Woah, Bells. You ok, baby?" I heard Edward trying to sooth me.

I felt like I had just gotten hit in the head by a bunch of rubber bands. Wow, that feels weird. It also felt like it took a good bit of energy to stretch it that far.

"Bell? Do you want to stop for a while? I don't want you to overdo anything." Edward sounded concerned.

I shook my head. "No, I wanna go again. Just give me a minute. That made me feel weird."

"Babe, I don't know…" Edward started.

"No, Edward. Really, I'm fine. I'm just not used to this shield. Livy's still sleeping, so I wan to get as much done while I can." I saw a huge smile grow on his face. "What?"

"Livy. I like it. It's a cute nickname for her." He chuckled.

"I just thought it was something fun. Anyways, the less she's kicking at my spine, the more time I can concentrate on what I'm doing." I said.

"As long as you're sure." He whispered in my ear.

"I am." I whispered back.

I took a minute to clear my head. I took some cleansing breaths, even though I didn't need them. It felt good to have that fresh airflow. Once that's done, I open my eyes to the loving family that's been supporting me. I feel the power of my shield more-so now than earlier. It's more of an energy now. And it's a pretty awesome feeling.

"Alright, let's go again." I said, feeling like a boxer in the ring.

I pushed at my shield with as much force as I could. And there was a sound off, immediately of people who were covered by it.

"You've got me, babe." Edward said.

"Me too, darlin." Jasper said.

"Me three, Bells." I had to laugh at Alice.

"Got me, Tinkerbelle." Emmett said.

"Me too." Rosalie said.

"You've got me too, Bella dear." Carlisle said.

"Wow. You've got me too, sweetie." Esme said.

I heard a gasp, and turned to see Eleazar staring in wonder. "Woah. You got me under it too, Bella. This is extraordinary."

"Do you see it?" He nodded. "Does it look different to you than it does to the others?" I asked.

"…It's like a blanketed effect. I can see a light, sheer, blue outline where everyone is protected. Whereas before, it was centralized to you, Bella. But before I didn't see a color to it. It was more of a haze around you. This is certainly interesting." Eleazar explained.

"You've got me now, Bella." Carmen said.

"Me, as well." Siohban said.

Ok, three more. I can do it. I pushed a little further.

"Oh wow. You have me now, Bella." Kate said.

"Me too, sweet girl." Irena said.

I heard a gagging sound, and saw Tanya, in all her bitchery, acting like this was getting on her last nerve. Uuuurrrrgggg, I wanna hurt that little biotch. I've just about had enough of her shit.

As I was pushing further away from me to get to Tanya, I felt Olivia moving in my stomach, and then I saw Tanya land on the ground and convulse.

"Oh holy fuck!" I exclaimed.

_Oh no. Did I do that?_

* * *

><p>See? Trust me, explanations are coming for that. I won't leave you hanging with it. I just hope I can get more writing time in this next week than I did this week. (I blame the College World Series. I can't stop watching it. And the pitcher from Florida is HOT. Just sayin. Lol. Well and RL is being a bitch to me and making me feel like hell. So that doesn't help.)<p>

Rec's for this week: 'My Sun and my son' by Littlemissyter

And 'Love Like Winter' by MandyLeigh87 (I don't know if I've already done this one, but I don't care. It's good. So read it.)


	13. Chapter 13

Alrighty then peoples! How's everyone doin?

Let's here it for my South Carolina Gamecocks for winning back to back NCAA World Series College Baseball Championships! 'cock-a-doodle-doooooo!' I so woulda pulled for UF if they hadn't been playing my team, but you gotta go with your home team. M. Roth is a sexy bitch, and S. Wingo is my hero. Lol. (Ok, rant over. Hah!)

Anyways, Lola(LaurieWhitlock) has been a busy bunny for me this week. She's the bestest. Muah, love ya.

And as much as it pains me, I don't own Twilight. *tear*

Onward!

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><p>Last time on LK<p>

_As I was pushing further away from me to get to Tanya, I felt Olivia moving in my stomach, and then I saw Tanya land on the ground and convulse._

"_Oh holy fuck!" I exclaimed. _

_Oh no. did I do that?_

Chapter 13

BPOV

I felt Edward grab me from behind and cover my stomach, protectively. And then saw Irena and Kate run over to where Tanya was laying motionless on the ground.

"Oh my God! Edward, please tell me I didn't do that." I'm so freaked out right now. I would be hyperventilating if I were human.

"Babe, calm down. I don't _think_ that you did it. But I'm not sure how to explain it. No one here has the power to do something like that. Kate never touched her. Something had to have happened." Edward tried to sooth me.

I'm actually starting to calm down a little. It has to be Jasper. There's no way I would have been this calm on my own.

"Jazz, is that you doing that?" I asked.

"Yes, darlin, it is. You're freakin out just a bit much and since I can feel it, then I can also calm it. And you really need it. You're makin me a little jumpy, too." Jasper said.

Kate, Irena, Carmen and Eleazar were checking on Tanya and it was a couple of minutes until she opened her eyes and looks straight over at me.

_Oh fuck_.

"You little bitch! How dare you electrocute me. I don't even know how you did it, but if you do it again, I will make you sorry that you ever messed-" Tanya started to rant but was again thrown to the ground, convulsing.

"Oh shit! Edward, what's going on? I'm not doing that. What the hell's happening?" And I'm panicking again.

"Eleazar, what's happening? There's no way that Bella did that. You said so yourself that she couldn't use someone else's gift on others." Edward said, sounding kind of worried too.

"…I'm not entirely sure. Bella, tell me what was going on when that happened. Was there any differences you could feel when she hit the ground?" Eleazar asked.

Well hell, how do I fucking know? Hmmm…

"I guess I was a little pissed at her behavior, but I was pushing my shield to cover her so that I had everyone under it. But I didn't really feel a difference… until Olivia started moving around…" But how could that do anything to Tanya?

Eleazar had a very perplexed look on his face as he looked at me. Like he was trying to work something out that didn't make sense…which none of this did. He walked back towards the house and up on the porch. Edward, Carlisle, Esme and I followed him up there so we could be away from the others.

"Edward? Can you read the baby's mind, at all?" Eleazar asked.

_What the hell._

I looked at Edward, and he didn't seem to understand why Eleazar was asking.

"Wait a sec. You think _she_ did it?" Edward asked, pointing at my stomach.

_Oh no fucking way…_

"Are you two bat shit crazy? There's no way that a fetus could pack that kind of power!" I said.

"Edward?" Eleazar asked.

Edward pursed his lips and looked like he was focusing. He then tilted his head to the right. "Hmmm…" He then walked around to face me, knelt down and put his hands on my stomach. He stayed that way for a moment, and then looked up at me with his mouth gaping open.

"What? You're scaring me. What's wrong?" I started to panic again. Where the hell is Jasper?

"…She did it. She was defending you. She heard what Tanya was doing and saying. So she took it into her own hands and… taught her a lesson." Edward said in amazement.

"WHAT? How did you even know that? Can you hear her or something?" I asked one question right after the other.

"Woah, Bells chill. Yes, I can hear her. But it's only when I'm touching your stomach, where she is. She's become developed enough that she's starting to have her own thoughts. Your stomach has grown some since yesterday, by the way." I slapped him on the shoulder. "What? You look sexy. I like it. Anyways, she thinks like a normal person. Not like a newborn baby would. She's intelligent, too. She knows who you and I are. She can hear most of the things that are going on out here. Which means she can hear all of Tanya's unwelcome comments. That was what pissed her off. She heard all of what Tanya was saying and how it was affecting Bella. It made her feel like she was being attacked too, since she's a part of her mother, and she went on the defensive. She took Kate's gift and turned it on Tanya. She's very talented. And obviously very powerful. We're definitely going to have our hands full with her, Bell." Edward said, then kissed my stomach.

I felt something rub up against the inside of my stomach when he kissed it. Then he looked up at me with so much adoration in his eyes.

"Did you feel it? She kissed me back from the inside." I knew he'd have tears rolling down his face if he was able to. I, on the other hand, would already be in a puddle on the ground at how fucking perfect this child already is, and how much love her daddy already has for her.

"I love you so much, Livy. Mommy and I are so proud of you already. Just don't go around hurting people because you feel like it. I'm putting my foot down now. Just keep it in check little missy." He cooed lovingly, so she knew he wasn't really mad at her. He just needed her to know she couldn't do this whenever she felt the need to. She could really end up hurting someone.

"This is extraordinary. I've never seen anything quite like it. Edward, can you see what all she can do? It might help us be more prepared if she gets defensive again." Eleazar asked.

"No, not really. It's hard to tell, for sure. It's like how it is with Bella, sometimes. She's not letting me see things she doesn't want me to. Hold on… what if she's using Bella's gift? If she used Kate's, then why not ours too?" Edward asked.

"You may be right. I can't get a read on the little one, either. So she may be using her mother's gift to protect her from someone like me seeing. Bella… see if you can get her to lower your shield that she's using. Maybe that will help. She may listen to you." Eleazar suggested.

I nodded and walked over to one of the rocking chairs that was on the porch. I put both my hands over my growing belly. Edward was right; it has grown in the last day. I started rocking in the chair, trying to figure out how to convince her to let us in. And I guess I started over thinking it. A mother's approach seems best. So I started humming a nursery rhyme to her. As I felt her calm down some, I started talking to her.

"Livy, baby, are you using mommy's gift so no one can find out what's going on with you? Can you give me a nudge once for yes, and two for no, sweet girl?" I asked my stomach in a very soothing and sweet voice.

I felt a single nudge against my hand.

I smiled up at Edward, who was staring on at me in awe. He obviously liked to see me being a mother._ God, I can't wait to hold her and be a mother._

I nodded my head for him to come over. He walked towards me and knelt in front of me.

"Olivia, can you at least let daddy in? Let him know what you're thinking? He's worried that you're upset at someone and doesn't want you to feel sad about it." I coaxed in a still soothing voice. And I felt another single nudge.

Then I looked at Edward again and grabbed his hand to place on my stomach.

EPOV

I was listening for Olivia's thoughts and anything else I could pick up from her. It took a couple of minutes, but she finally let me back in.

**I'm sorry, daddy.** I heard my little angel think to me, in the sweetest, most beautiful voice. It reminded me of her mother's voice.

"I know baby girl. Just don't do it whenever you feel like it, angel." I spoke to her, in Bella's stomach.

**Are you and momma mad?** God that just gutted me. How could she think we're mad at her? I could never be mad at her.

"Oh baby, no we're not mad. We just don't want you to hurt someone, unnecessarily. Just be careful how you use your gifts. We don't even know what all you can do yet." I soothed her.

…**I can absorb others' gifts and use them. I can hear thoughts of other people, and they can hear mine when I want them to. I can protect myself like momma, with a shield… I didn't mean to hurt that Tanya lady too much. I just wanted her to stop being mean to mommy. Can I still practice with my gifts, though? **Christ, she is going to be impossible to resist when she gets here. Just her sweet little voice makes me wither to her whim.

"Yes baby, you can still practice it. You just have to be mindful of what you're doing. Don't target people unless you're told by us, or unless you or we are in danger. Ok, little one?" I told her in a calm, sweet voice.

**Yes, daddy.** She thought to me, sweetly and apologetically.

I laid my head in Bella's lap. I swear I would cry right now if I could from her calling me daddy like that. I looked up at Bella and she looked just about like I probably did.

"Your daughter doesn't play fair. I know exactly where she gets it from too." I said to Bella.

She smiled sweetly at me. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm sure it's not true." She said in that innocent voice, with that gorgeous smile that always makes me melts.

"Ugh, she's gonna be just like you. Beautiful, funny, sweet, innocent, charismatic, able to make me crumble with a single little look…"I trailed off, hoping she knew just how much 'mother-like-daughter' they already were know.

"And able to get out of anything with a crooked little smile and a pout. I told you we were going to have trouble with this one. She is going to be a force to be reckoned with. And I don't mean as a vampire. But just as a girl." Bella retorted.

"Hey, not all my fault. She will be the perfect mixture of the two of us. I can't wait for her to get here. I want to hold her, so badly right now. The way she calls me daddy just pulls at every string in my heart. Her voice is so much like yours." I leaned up to kiss her. Then felt a kick at my hand.

**No kissing, daddy!** My little Olivia thought to me.

"Look here, munchkin. I'm showing your mommy how much I love her. So close your eyes for a sec. And I kissed you from here, so I don't want to hear it, young lady." I scolded her, sweetly, so she knew I wasn't mad.

**But daaaadddddddddyyyy!** She thought.

I had to laugh at how fucking cute she was being. "I can't believe I'm being reprimanded by my unborn child for kissing her mother. This just doesn't seem fair to me."

Bella laughed, too. This is so not going to be good if they gang up on me either. I'm done for if that happens.

"You know, I like seeing that I'm not the only one that can frazzle you like this. It's too adorable for words." She said. And I growled at her.

"If you and Livy are done making fun of me, let's tell Eleazar what I found out." I said, standing to turn back towards Eleazar, Carlisle and Esme. Tanya was standing out in the yard with Kate, Irena and Carmen. But she was also glaring at Bella. Gah, the nerve of that woman.

"I know for sure that it was Olivia that did it. She also told me what else she can do, and I think we have a very_, very_ powerful being on our hands." I said to them as calmly as I could. It still shocked the shit out of me that Olivia was this powerful already. What the fuck are we gonna do when she becomes a teenager and she wants to rebel against us? Shit, I don't even want to think that far ahead yet.

"What did she tell you, Edward?" Carlisle asked.

"She can absorb and use other's gifts. She has a shield, like Bella's. And she can hear people's thoughts, and she can also project her own thoughts to others." I told them.

All of their eyes went wide, and Esme's hands went up to cover her mouth from the shock. Bella grabbed my hand and put the other over Olivia.

"OH my god!" Esme, so eloquently put it. Well I can't really blame her.

"Wow. That… that's amazing. I don't think there has ever been a vampire with multiple gifts, like that. This little girl will be highly sought after, Carlisle. You have to make sure she is protected from the Volturi. They _all_ must be protected. You and I both know if he can't get to the child, then he will try for Bella or Edward. He hates leaving empty-handed when he seeks out a gifted vampire. Bella, Edward, you must make sure that you do not go along with Aro or any of the Volturi. They can't be trusted. Your gifts will be used for their own gain in Volterra. Aro is notorious for 'collecting', if you will. If a vampire can serve his purposes, then he takes them back with him to be in the guard. They are manipulative, and completely conniving. They'll do whatever they can to get what they want. Don't let them." Eleazar explained to us.

"I don't plan on letting them get that close to us. But I will make sure that they have no power over us. I'd rather die then let them take us with them." I said in a strong voice.

"Edward, we'll make sure that it doesn't come to that. If they find us, then we'll be a united front against them. We'll make sure that they can never get to Olivia, or the two of you." Esme said in her motherly voice. She really was becoming like a mom to me. She would fuss over us, or scold us if we used bad language. She made sure we were taken care of. She would have been a wonderful mother, had this not happened to her.

Tanya, Irena, Kate and Carmen had come back up to the house now.

"I think we're done with the practice for right now. Why don't you four go and hunt, and then we'll regroup when you get back. We'll probably go back to it then. But we'll give it a rest so baby Olivia can go back to sleep. Carlisle? Any of yours need to hunt?" Eleazar asked.

Carlisle looked around to see if anyone needed to go. No one stepped up because most all of us had been hunting in the past few days. "I think most of us are fine in that area. You four go on ahead and hunt." Carlisle said.

With that, Kate, Irena, Tanya and Carmen all took off towards the trees and disappeared.

We all turned and went inside. I took Bella into the living room and sat down on the couch with her. I laid my head in her lap with my hand on her stomach so I could listen to Olivia some more. She's so fascinating to listen to. The others came in as well and sat down to relax with each other.

"So when do you two want to start buying things for little Olivia's room? We can look at some things online and get some ideas going for it. We need to get her room done soon." Alice said happily.

I looked up at Bella to see what she wanted to do. She furrowed her brow but turned and nodded at Alice. Hearing the shrill squeal from Alice, and her sudden departure from the room meant that she could only be excited.

Alice appeared back in the room with her laptop and I knew this was going to be trouble. Mostly because I could see all the little wheels in her head turning. She gracefully plopped down in front of us. She automatically pulled up baby stores and we were assaulted by tons of furniture, baby clothes, bottles, toys, things I never even thought babies would ever need.

_Holy god in heaven._

"What the hell? What is all this shit? How much stuff does a baby need?" I asked, totally confused.

"We were gonna have to do this eventually, before. Just be glad we're not alone doing this. We'd probably end up with a huge mess in the nursery without someone like Alice and Esme." Bella said to me.

So true.

"Got it. So what are we really going to need? We don't have a clue as to if she'll need the normal baby stuff or not." I asked.

Alice went through loads of stuff that we knew we would definitely need for her.

"Hey Edward, couldn't you find out from Olivia now, what she would need? Wait, she wouldn't know what she wants to eat yet, so that may not do much good." Alice said, but dismissed her thought. Yeah she's gonna be interesting to live around. She's just a ball of energy and talks whenever something pops in her head. It will just never be a dull minute with her around. She's fun though.

As we were going through the stuff online, I started hearing Olivia again.

**Daddy, can Grammy do this to my room?** Then she showed me an image of things she wanted done. And it seemed like it would be such a perfect room for her. Sweet and fun.

She wanted lime green walls, white furniture (some of which we had looked through that Bella and I liked), white rocking chair, green, pink and white plaid bedding, green and white sheer curtains. It would be beautiful for our little girl.

But then I thought about what she said again. _Huh?_

"Baby girl, who's Grammy?" I asked her. And Bella's head shot to my eyes. She looked confused too.

**Grammy Esme, daddy.** She thought to me. Then I looked over at Esme.

* * *

><p>So, we got a glimpse of baby Olivia here. She will be here soon. I'm going to skip ahead maybe in the next few chapters so we can get this rollin. But I gotta get the main stuff out of the way. With that being said… who else has that kind of reaction when their little one calls them 'mommy' or 'daddy' for the first time? I'm not a mom, but I see it when I'm around my brother and sister and their little ones. It's so heartwarming. I've even been called momma before because I look just like my sister, but it still tugs at your heart then, even when they didn't mean to call you that.<p>

Anyways, so, recs for this week: "Sin & Innocence" by drotuno (the sequel to Blood and Glory. It's good stuff.)

That's it for now. Leave me love. Or not love.

Happy 4th to all my Americans this Monday.


	14. Chapter 14

Hey peoples! Ok, hope you're all ready for another chapter. Not a lot to explain, so I'm just gonna shut my trap.

Ya know the drill… Lola(LaurieWhitlock) a.k.a. busy bunny, a.k.a. sorella, a.k.a. mafia sister, a.k.a. the monkey junkie(not given by me….), a.k.a. darlin, hun, and lots of others, is an awesome beta. Muahs! Love!

And as usual, SM owns Twilight, I don't (but I did watch the Twilight marathon that was on the movie channels the other day. Anyone else watch it?)

Ok, let's get on with it.

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><p>Chapter 14<p>

BPOV

Watching Edward talk to Olivia… there is absolutely no words. Only… fucking perfect. Absolutely fucking perfect. And heartwarming. I've seen his sweet and tender side before, but this was almost too much. He's going to be a fucking amazing father.

"Baby girl, who's Grammy?" Edward asked Olivia.

_Huh? What the hell is he talking about?_

I sharply turned my head to look him in the eyes. I was totally freaking confused. Who the hell is Grammy suppose to be?

Edward listened to what Olivia was telling him, then turned to look at Esme, gaping.

"Edward? Honey, what is it?" Esme asked with her own confused look.

"…She called _you_ Grammy. She already knows who you are and wants you to be her grandma. She had asked me if Grammy could do her room a certain way." Edward said.

Esme put both of her hands over her mouth, obviously shocked by what Edward was telling her. Hell I was shocked too, but knowing Olivia, this really shouldn't surprise me.

"Oh Edward, that little angel wants me to be her grandma? Oh my goodness. I don't even know what to say. I'll be her grandma if she wants me to be. It would be a blessing and honor. You two may as well already be my children. I wouldn't have it any other way." Esme said with so much emotion. There was no way that she could be denied something that is so precious to her. I sure as hell would make sure of it.

"Esme, of course. You know you're like a mom to me. I'd never consider not thinking of you as such. You've been nothing but amazing to us and caring. I've personally missed having a mother in my life. She left when I was young because she couldn't be bothered to care for a child and stay in a small town any longer. So she left and my dad raised me. And he did a great job on his own. And Edward's parents were killed when he was seventeen. And he didn't have anyone else. So having parents now, and to have them share this with us makes me extremely thankful." I told her honestly.

Esme just nodded. I guess not expecting me to share all of that with them.

Edward then told us what Olivia was telling him she wanted done to her room. It would be so adorably cute. I think pink and green would be so good in there. We had been looking at all the stuff online and I guess she saw something through one of us and came up with what she wanted. Which in a huge way, I'm thankful; because I wouldn't have had the slightest fucking clue what to do. There was so much crap out there for kids and I was shocked that there was more stuff for them, then there was for adults. It was incredibly overwhelming.

"Alright, I'm ordering the furniture and bedding now, then we'll go get the paint and other stuff and get started. What about your room? We should get started on it too. We need a place in there too for Monkey. We're bringing him here tonight." Alice said, looking back at us from her spot on the floor.

That's a good question. I know I want somewhere that is serene and relaxing. Something like a beach house feel. I touched Edward's cheek, putting my shield over him, to see if he could see what I had in mind too and get his thoughts on it.

I was seeing a Nantucket blue room, with white bedding and a white, wainscoting paneled bed and matching dresser, etc. and flowing, sheer white curtains. I love the beach. And what better way to get the beach at home in a place where it rains all the damn time.

"I think it's perfect, Bell. I love it." Edward said, then kissed my temple.

"I love it too! Esme and I should have no problem getting this done. It'll be finished in no time. Trust me." Alice said, as she started typing furiously on the laptop.

"Alice, take it easy on the computer. It never did anything to you." I said, laughing.

Everyone laughed with me, because apparently when Alice gets started on shopping, of any kind, you don't get in her way… or distract her.

"Bells, really, don't make me get started on your wardrobe already. I'm already planning on redoing the whole thing, but if you keep that shit up, then it'll be the first thing on my list of things to do. So cut it, missy." Alice said very fast, not even looking away from the computer.

"Oh lord, what have we gotten ourselves into?" I asked, rhetorically.

"Bells, there's a reason your clothes haven't been put away yet. Because I am getting you a whole new one, along with Edward. You'll learn to love fashion. And so will little one." She still wasn't looking away from the fucking computer.

I thought about running upstairs and setting fire to her closet. Maybe she'll get distracted and go off on her own shopping spree and leave me alone.

"NO! BELLA, NOT MY JIMMY CHOO COLLECTION! I can't live without them! PLEASE?" Alice finally turned around abruptly, abandoning the laptop on the floor and grabbing both of my hands for dear life and pleading with me. Wow, she must really love her Jimmy Choo's…

"Jazz, I think you've been replaced by a shoe. I'm so sorry." I tried to act sympathetic, while all I want to do is laugh.

"Yeah I kinda knew. There's more shit in that closet from that man than even my own clothes. It's sad, really." Jasper said, trying to look all sad.

We all burst out laughing. Alice had a pout on her face while she was looking at Jasper.

"Alice, has anyone ever told you that you have an unhealthy addiction to shopping?" I asked, messing with her a little.

"I have! But she never fucking listens to me." Rosalie retorted.

"There's no such thing as an unhealthy addiction to shopping. I just happen to like going every… week-" Alice started.

"That includes online shopping, Alice." I cut in.

"Fine! Every other day. I can't help it if there's so much cute stuff out there. And I have to shop for six people. Do you know how much time that takes?" Alice defended.

"So let me get this straight… we never get tired, we never sleep, we can go do things like normal people, but Alice is the one who shops for everyone's clothes? What, did we all lose the ability to walk around a mall in the transformation?" I joked.

"Hey! I never let them wear something more than once. So I have to make sure it's fashionable, and that their closets are fully stocked at all times. Where's the crime in that?" Alice quipped back.

"She's right. She will tear the clothes off our backs if we wear them more than once. She's a scary fucking pixie when it comes to fashion." Emmett added.

_Heaven help us._

"Okie dokie then. So you think you can get our room, along with Olivia's done easily? I'll help with whatever I can." I offered.

"No, Bell. You're not getting around paint fumes with Olivia. I don't care if we are vampires or not. You're going to be careful and you're going to take every precaution that normal mothers take. We don't know how Livy will react to any sort of exertion that would make a normal person exhausted, so it could take its toll on her. I don't want to risk anything. Please?" Edward pleaded with me.

Damn it. He's not playing fair again. Jerk…

"Ok, fine. I won't be around the paint fumes. But can I at least help set up things? Or are you going to tell me to stay off my feet?" I asked teasing him… hopefully he wouldn't take it seriously.

"Bell, give me a little credit here. But I do want you to watch for things that she might be telling you to slow down with." Edward said, kissing my cheek.

"Ok, I promise. She usually lets me know anyways. She has a deadly kick to the spine when she wants to." I told him.

He got a concerned look on his face, then turned to look at my stomach.

"Livy, baby can you try not to kick mommy so much in the back? It doesn't feel good to her and you don't want to hurt her, do you baby girl?" Edward asked her in a sweet voice.

He leaned his ear against my stomach to listen to her. When he looked up at me again, he was smiling.

"She said, and I quote: 'I'm sorry momma. I didn't mean to hurt you. I love you mommy.' I think she feels bad about it. She sounded worried. Like she thought you'd be really mad at her." Edward said.

I closed my eyes for a moment. She thought I'd be mad? I could never.

I reached for my stomach and gently told her, "Livy, baby I love you too. And I could never, ever be mad at you, sweet girl. You and daddy are the most important things in the world to me."

Then I felt something rubbing on the inside of my stomach.

_Is she nuzzling me?_

"You know she absolutely adores you, right?" Edward asked me.

"I hadn't really noticed, but yeah I guess I can feel it now." I told him.

We relaxed a little more after that and waited for the others to get back. Once they were, we went back outside for practice. Olivia had calmed down and felt like she was asleep, or at least resting.

"Ok, Bella. We're going to try a little more this time. You're going to cover the Cullens, and we're going to see if Kate can get past your shield. Make sure you don't cover her; it would be pointless for this. Now, go ahead." Eleazar explained.

This oughta be fun…

I pushed my shield out over my family. It seemed so much easier now. Like manipulating a down pouring of water. You can put something in its path, or push against it, and it moves for you.

I nodded to Eleazar and Kate and told them I was ready. Kate walked over to me first. She had taken off her gloves and reached out her hand towards me.

"Kate, I want to warn you. You may feel it come back and electrocute yourself. It's part of how her shield works. Are you still ok with doing this?" Eleazar asked her.

Kate nodded her head without hesitation.

When she touched me, I expected to at least feel something. Even a tiny twinge, but I felt nothing. But apparently, Kate did. One second she was touching me, the next she was a couple of feet away.

"Holy shit. Kate, I'm sorry…" I tried to apologize.

"No, no sweetie. It's ok. I've just never felt my own gift. It's… different then I thought it would be. A hundred years, and nothing prepared me for that. Wow…" Kate said.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"Well some vampires with gifts already can feel the effects of their gift. I've never felt mine. Take Alice. She sees things in the future. She can feel her gift. Jasper, especially. There's no way for him to not feel his gift. And Edward, I'm sure, feels his. Mine's always been a projecting power. They are few and far between in our world. But it's good to know how it actually feels. It doesn't feel good, by any means, but still." Kate explained.

"No shit, Kate. That stuff hurts like hell. She knocked me on my ass one day and I became close friends with the ground for about an hour, because I couldn't move." Emmett said.

_Woah, that's some fucking power… hmmm…_

"Kate… I want you to try it on me again. I want to feel it." I said, with some determination, I might add.

"Abso-fucking-lutely NOT! Bella, you're not going to put Olivia in that kind of danger. We just talked about this…" Edward tried to reason.

"No, Edward wait. She can protect herself, remember. She'll be fine if she has a shield over her." I told him, and then looked down at my stomach. "Livy, baby, I want you to put a shield around yourself for a few minutes. Can you do that for me, sweet girl?" I asked her.

Then I felt her tap my stomach once for yes.

"Ok, Kate, come on." I motioned for her to come towards me again.

"Bell, please be reasonable." Edward tried again.

"Edward, look, can you hear her?" I pointed at my stomach. And he shook his head. "She's protecting herself, like I asked. Please just let me find out what it is that I'm working against with Kate's gift. It helps me understand my gift more. Please?" I begged.

He took a deep breath, then nodded. "Fine, but please don't do too much."

I smiled then turned back to Kate. I reached out with my shield towards her, so she would be under it, and hopefully this would work like I wanted…

She reached out her hand to me again and then I felt a jolt, then I was on my knees. I didn't even realize it happened.

"Wow." I breathed as I was trying to get my bearings back. I looked back up at Kate. "Was that the most you can put off?" I asked.

"No. but I'm not throwing my highest 'setting' at you. That could end up leaving you weak, and I don't want that to affect your baby girl." She said in a final tone.

"Alright, fine. That was a rush, though. I've never felt anything like it." I told her. It _was_ really cool. She would certainly make good money doing electric shock therapy…

"Ok. Well, if you're up to it, Bella, we can see if Siobhan's gift can get through the shield. Do you think you're ready to go on?" Eleazar asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I want to get this done."

The next thing I know, all of the Cullens are running around the yard. Some have run and jumped into the river, some are up in the trees.

Uhhhh…

"Cover them." Was all Eleazar said.

_Riiiiggghhht…_

I pushed my shield around the three that were up in the tree. Immediately, Carlisle, Esme and Edward stopped what they were doing and looked down at where we were.

"Is it that much fun up there, or do you guys want to come down now?" I laughed at the confused looks on their faces.

All three of them jumped down out of the tree and came to stand near me.

"You are very handy to have around, Bella dear." Carlisle said with amusement.

"Yeah, because god only knows what the hell would happen next. You might be running through the hospital, naked for all we know." I laughed.

He looked worried. "Bella, don't ever let me do that. I would freak myself out. What would the humans think of a perfectly toned, forty-something man running naked through the hospital wings? Do you know how many women would faint?" He said. And I actually thought he was being serious… maybe he was. But I'm going to pass on seeing Dr. Cullen sans clothes… for now. Hah!

I couldn't help but laugh hysterically at what he said. Yeah, Carlisle Cullen so is not a vain man….

"Alright, alright. Time to get the rest of the kiddies out of the water. Play time is over." I said, then pushed my shield towards the four of them.

The shrieks could probably be heard in Florida.

"AAAHHHHH! NOT MY HAIR!" Rosalie screamed.

"OMG! THIS WAS CHRISTIAN DIOR!" Of course Alice is worried about her clothes…

"What's the problem if you're only going to wear it once, Alice?" I called to her.

"THAT'S SO NOT THE POINT." Alice exclaimed.

By now, we're all laughing at how much Alice is pouting over her clothes. And Rosalie's wet hair 'fiasco'.

"Ok, you guys. That's enough for today. Get in the house and get changed." Esme automatically went into mom-mode.

"Yes ma'am." They all said, walking towards the back door.

"Bella, would you like to do more practice tomorrow? We're more than happy to stay and help." Eleazar said.

"Actually, I think I'm good. I've gotten a huge handle on this gift and know how to manipulate it now. Yes, it will take time to perfect it, but with Olivia also being in the mix of things, I think the next time we do something like this; she should be out of the womb. I don't want her to influence what I'm doing and it'll give me a little bit more free rein to really stretch it to its max. But thank you guys so much for coming and working with me. This was a huge help to me. But if you have lives to get back to, I don't want to hold you up any longer." I told him.

Eleazar took my hand and kissed it. "You are a most gracious person, Bella. It's been a great honor to meet the both of you. Please let us know when the little one gets here. I would love to see her." He smiled.

"Of course I will. How can I ever thank you for all you've done?" I said, as I hugged him.

"No thanks is necessary, dear girl. You're family." He said, then let go of me.

We all said our goodbyes and saw the Denali's and Siohban off.

"Ok, who's up for room remodels?" Alice asked once they were gone.

_I will not kill the pixie, I will not kill the pixie, I will not kill the pixie… well not yet… I swear… I'm gonna white knuckle this living with Alice Cullen shit…_

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><p>Alright, so we're gonna move forward in the next chapter. I've already started it, and we're getting somewhere. In all honesty, my original outline for this story was 12 chapters….at the most…. But I've obviously exceeded that, haven't I? and I'm no where near done *groan* This story just became it's own damn thing and now I'm trying to figure out where I'm going to end it.<p>

Rec for the week: 'the path we choose' by les16 (I'm not done with it yet, but so far it's really, really good.)


	15. Chapter 15

Hey peoples! Ok so we're moving along here with the story. I'm trying to get it to where I can finish it in 5 or 6 more chapters. I'm hoping, at least. So I'm hoping when this one's done, I can focus a lot more on my other story. That one's a monster.

Anyhoozles, apparently Lola(LaurieWhitlock) is my beta, and mob seesta. :p

And SM owns Twilight, I unfortunately don't.

Yes, I'm using some of the aspects from BD with this story, so don't bitch. It's all a method to the madness. Hehe

Ok, read on!

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><p>Chapter 15<p>

BPOV

**December**

It was early December, and we were all out hunting. We had noticed that the snow had started falling the day before. This meant that Olivia would be arriving soon. We weren't sure exactly when, but we were being vigilant. And I was huge. Like about to pop, huge. This didn't make hunting all that easy for me.

The last couple of months have been pretty great. Edward and I have been adjusting really well to being vampires. We weren't quite ready to be around humans yet, but we were working our way up to it slowly. We've come across a human scent a couple of times, and tried to acclimate ourselves to it. It was… hard. Like really, really hard to not go running after the guy that was in the woods, hunting. Which was ironic. That scent hit both of us so damn hard that I was surprised that Jasper, Alice, Rose, Emmett, Carlisle and Esme could hold us back. We were so completely consumed by the scent that it was all we could think about. I thought that animal blood smelled appealing… god was I wrong.

But we were finally able to rein in our crazed thirsts. It wasn't easy by any means, but we did it. After that, we at least knew what we were in for when we caught the scent of a human after that.

Edward and I have been amazing together, too. I thought we were insatiable when we were humans… all I can say is WOW. I may be pregnant, but I still want him more than anything. It has actually brought us closer. Not just the sex, but the being closer than we've ever been before… connecting on a whole new level of our physical relationship.

We also have been adjusting very well with our gifts. Although Edward can't exactly 'turn off' the thoughts that he hears. He's starting to figure out how to tune them out sometimes by focusing on something else. But they're always there.

My gifts were becoming very easy to work with, as well. Putting my shield over Edward was like second nature to me. I was still jumpy when he reacted to some of my thoughts. It's hard to get used to. And it's becoming easier for Alice to see the future for me. Even if my shield isn't around her. We've figured it's because she's becoming so attuned to me that it's the same as being under my shield. Jasper can't always feel my emotions, but he's learning to read me and my reactions so he knows how I'm feeling. Not quite as easy to manipulate my emotions though… Sucks for him. Hah!

And Olivia's been growing… rapidly. Everyday my body was changing and it was freaking me out sometimes. But Edward was always telling me how unbelievably beautiful I am… biased ass… She's also been getting stronger with her gifts. It's scary to know how powerful she'll be.

But knowing that she'll be here soon has been making us all really excited.

We ended up getting hers and our room done in under a week. It wasn't that hard with all the people in the house helping. I think Alice and Esme took things a little overboard, but how could I not let them do something that they love? Rosalie even got into the mix… and even had her moments of going overboard. But I really couldn't begrudge her that. She deserved it.

We were also getting along with each other a lot better than I ever expected. Rosalie was not the raging bitch that she had been when we first got here. Alice has become almost attached to my hip. Jasper has been so supportive in helping with our gifts. Emmett has been a huge source of entertainment. And Esme and Carlisle have both been amazing Parent figures. We've turned into a real family. A huge one, too.

Things were really good, so far.

I've also been worried about how we're supposed to deliver Olivia. None of us knew for sure if a traditional delivery would be how we did it, or if we would have to do something like a c-section. That one, I wasn't looking forward to.

I was waiting for Edward to finish with the mountain lion he had found; when it felt like my whole body was revolting against me. My insides felt like they were being ripped apart and breaking. I started screaming bloody murder. Being a vampire, we have a high tolerance for pain… but this is beyond anything I've ever felt… even the car accident.

I vaguely heard Edward rushing over to where I was. "Bell? Baby, what's going on? Are you ok? Is it Livy?" Edward asked, frantically.

I nodded. "I think… she's…" I tried to tell him, only to be cut off by my own screams again. "Edward… she's coming… oh god…"

"ALI! JAZZ! GET BACK TO THE HOUSE!" Edward yelled into the trees. "Baby, I'm gonna carry you back, ok? We'll be there soon."

He picked me up, as carefully as he could, and took off towards home. I couldn't really focus on anything. The trees were a blur; I was just trying to focus myself on Olivia. If this was how much pain I was in now, god help me when she actually comes out.

I could feel Alice and Jasper close by us. This meant the others were probably not too far behind.

Before I knew it, we were coming through the clearing of trees, over the river, and running up the stairs and into the house. I found myself lying on the bed in the guest room that Edward was laying on when we were first brought here.

Edward was at my side immediately. "Bell, Carlisle's getting everything he can think of that will help us deliver her, ok? We still don't know what will work…" He started, only to be cut off by my screams again.

Christ, how do women do this more than once? This is fucking torture.

"Bella, sweetheart, I need for you to try to tell me what you're feeling. I know it's a stupid question, but please give me something so I can estimate what's happening." Carlisle said when he walked in.

_Oh for fuck's sake…_

"…It feels like… my insides are shattering… like she's pulling… on just about anything she can… AHHHH!… but I don't feel anything like… what has been said in pregnancy books… I think she's… trying to tear her way out… SHIT!" I got hit with another round of torturous pain.

Carlisle looked almost panicked, and Edward looked like someone had just shot him.

"Carlisle, we've gotta get her out of there, now. Olivia's panicking, and it's not good for her." Edward said in a very pained voice.

Carlisle looked over at him and then to me, then nodded. "She's not coming out the normal way, Edward… we've got to find a way that-" He was cut off by the most blood-curdling scream I've ever heard. Only to find that it was me doing the screaming again.

I was hunched over, on my hands and knees, with one hand over my stomach. I was trying to calm her down some, but I don't even know if it was working.

I felt Edward's arms around me and his soothing voice in my ear. "Baby, hold on. Just hold onto me. We're gonna get her out, I promise. I love you so much." He kept repeating.

I felt him stiffen behind me. "Carlisle, is that the only way to do this? There's nothing else?" He asked.

"I'm sorry, Edward. She won't be able to go through the birth canal, so we have to do it this way." Carlisle said with unease in his voice.

Edward seemed to be looking at his thoughts, then spoke up. "I'll do it, Carlisle. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable doing that."

"What are you two… talking about?" I tried to get out without screaming this time.

Edward turned back to me and tried to even out his voice. "Bell, I'm gonna have to… basically tear into your skin at your uterus… Our skin can't be cut by anything else, so it'll have to be done by my teeth. It's the only way we can see to get her out of there."

I started panicking a little. That sounded worse than a c-section, to be honest. But I guess you could say it was the vampire equivalent.

Olivia continued her assault on my insides, and I wasn't really in the mood for caring how they got her out now, so long as they actually got her out.

"Edward, what ever you have to do… just do it… I can't take much more of this… I think she's freaking out in there." I said in between pants.

Edward nodded. "Ok baby, I need you to turn back over on your back, so I can get to your stomach. Come on." He helped me turn back around and lay back, as comfortably as possible.

The shirt and shorts I had been wearing were discarded. Not that I really care at this moment. I did see that Carlisle had something to cover me up with, but right now, I'd rather just get the baby out. I'll worry about my modesty later. At least I had on a bra and panties to begin with.

Things started looking black around the edges of my vision… this could not be good. I knew this feeling from when I was a human. I was about to pass out.

_Since when do fucking vampires pass out?_

I tried to reach my hand out, but I have no clue if it actually moved. But I got my answer when Carlisle grabbed hold of it, tightly.

"I'm right here, dear. Squeeze as tight as you have to. We'll have her out as soon as possible." Carlisle tried to sooth me.

I think I tried to open my mouth to tell him what was wrong, but I think it just came out as gibberish.

I'm not really sure what all was happening, but I know I felt the tearing in the bottom of my stomach. It felt like fire. I don't remember much after that because I obviously lost consciousness for a little bit. I guess my body couldn't take so much torture anymore and it had to slow down.

The next thing I knew, I could hear the sweetest cooing sound from across the room.

I opened my eyes to look around, and I saw Edward, with a pink bundle in his arms. He had the happiest look in the world, on his face. I could see the pride coming off of him. He was already wrapped around that little girl's finger, and he didn't even know it.

I felt around on my body to see how bad off I was. But I found that there was nothing there. No open wound, no blood, no discomfort. Nothing. But I did see a faint scar on my lower abdomen. Either I was out for a really long time, or we heal really fucking fast.

Edward must have heard me moving around and turned to look at me. "Oh, Bells." He rushed over to me. "Someone here has been very anxious to meet her mommy." He said in a very sweet, almost heart-melting, voice.

I held my hands out to him, and he carefully placed our little girl in my arms. I peered down at the little bundle in my arms, and my breath stopped.

She was absolutely perfect. She already had the start of some unruly bronze colored hair. She had my nose, Edward's face and jaw. She looked around, then straight up at me, and I saw my old eyes. Deep brown, and so perfect with her face. She had a beautiful, pale complexion, as well. And now I'm just noticing that she has Edward's ears. _So cute. _I love his ears. And now, hers.

I can't even think of how I'm supposed to start breathing again. I'm so mesmerized by her. You can't help it when you look at her.

I felt Edward lay beside me on the bed and look down at her, also.

"Bells, she came out perfectly fine. We were right, she was panicking in there. I guess she was moving around and the cord rapped around her neck and arm, and it freaked her out. So that's what all the pain was from. But she was so worried about you when she came out and saw you not moving. She thought she killed you." Edward explained.

_Oh my poor little angel._

I looked back down at her and… there seemed to be relief in her eyes. "Oh my little Olivia. Don't ever worry about that. You were in distress and tried to find a way out of it. I love you so much, little one." I leaned down and kissed her little forehead.

I heard her sweet coos and it just melted my heart.

I looked up into Edward's eyes and tried to relay all the love I felt in that moment. There were so many emotions going through me, but love was the predominate one.

"I know, baby, I know. I love you too. And I love this tiny angel, right here, too." He leaned down and kissed her forehead, as well.

We stayed there in the bed for a while, just rocking her back and forth. She finally went to sleep. This shocked me a little. I wasn't sure if she would actually sleep at all.

Carlisle came back in and checked on us. I felt totally fine, but he insisted that I be checked. When he did, everything seemed good. There was no lingering effects or feeling from when they took the baby out.

Olivia was a riot with Carlisle. She giggled at him the whole time he was checking her out. Carlisle couldn't keep from laughing at how cute she was being. I thought that there was no way she could get any cuter… but I was wrong. I have a feeling that this is just the tip of the iceberg with her.

"She's perfect, Bella. No problems with her, at all. She's probably one of the healthiest babies I've ever seen. We haven't gotten to the point of feeding her yet, so we don't know what her diet is." Carlisle explained as he handed her back to me.

I looked up at Edward. "Has she thought about that yet?"

"Not really. She's said she was getting hungry, but hasn't told me what she wants." Edward said, looking concerned.

Huh… well I guess now is as good a time as any.

"Livy, baby girl, can you tell us what it is you want to drink? Do you want formula or… blood?" I ask, tentatively. There's really no easy way to ask that.

She reached her hand out to me, and placed it on my cheek. Then I saw it. Flowing red liquid… she wanted blood.

"Oh, thank God. I don't think I could be around human food all the time." I said in relief.

"She showed you, didn't she?" Carlisle asked.

I nodded and looked at him expectantly.

"She did that when we first got her out. She saw you, not moving, and she reached up and touched me, and showed me that she wanted you to wake up and be with her. She was really worried about you." Carlisle explained.

_I love this little girl._

I looked down at her again and she was just staring at me. She was obviously worried I was going to disappear on her.

"I'm not going anywhere, angel. You're stuck with me. AND daddy." I laughed when he playfully glared at me.

"Alright, mommy needs to go get cleaned up and changed. Come on, little one. Let's go see if Aunt Alice has your 'breakfast' ready yet." Edward said as he pulled her into his arms. I was sad that I wouldn't get to feed her this first time, but lord knows, I'll be feeding her plenty of times in the future. I just wonder how long…

Once Edward and Olivia were out of the room, I moved to get up. It felt so weird not having her in my stomach anymore. I felt a lump in my throat and tried to swallow around it. I guess most moms feel that way.

"It IS normal. I know you're thinking about the separation. It happens with almost all new moms. They will go through some form of post partum depression. It can go by quickly, or it can linger for a while. But you will be fine. Judging from the fact that you didn't take off down the hall after her, means it won't be bad." Carlisle told me.

That was a relief. I didn't want to walk around like some depressed mental person just because my child wasn't in my arms all the time. Though I doubt it's quite that bad.

"Thanks, Carlisle. For everything. You've been so good to us." I said.

"No thanks are necessary, my dear. You're my daughter, and I would do whatever needed to be done for you. And Edward."

I walked over to him and hugged him. He was such a good man.

I ran up to our room and quickly showered because I'm sure I looked rough. Once I was done, I changed into jeans and a t-shirt and ran back downstairs. When I got there, I stopped in my tracks.

Edward was holding Olivia, by the back window, feeding her. It was just one of those moments that you couldn't think of anything better in life. Just watching your future husband and daughter together in such a simple act was heartwarming.

I walked over to them and rested my head against Edward's shoulder. I looked down at Olivia in his arms, and noticed that she looked different.

"Wow. She's changed already in the time it took to shower and change. Her face seems a little more defined." I whispered.

"Yeah. She's gonna be all grown up before we even blink." Edward said playfully.

"Oh don't even say that. I want to keep her this little for as long as possible." I said, peeking at her again. I love how small she is right now.

"I called Eleazar and let him know she was here. He's very excited to see her. He'll be down in a day or two." Carlisle said, coming down the stairs.

"Good. He really was anxious to see her when she was born, before they left." I told him.

Over the next several days, we watched Olivia's growth patterns. It was insane that one day she looked like a newborn, and the next she looked months older. This worried me a little. She would be at the developed size of an adult in a few years.

Eleazar was baffled by this, too. There hadn't been much said in stories about the powerful one, saying how fast she would grow or when the growth would stop.

We were starting to get a good routine going. Olivia slept well at night, and had a nap a couple of times a day. Her feeding schedule was always the same. Half of us would go hunting, and the other half would wait to go together while we were home with Olivia.

It was several months later and we were getting worried that Olivia wouldn't speak. She always 'spoke' to us through her gift. But I wanted, so badly, to hear her little voice.

She had been so good the last few months. She never threw a fit, she slept all the way through the night, she kept to her eating schedule, she obviously never had a problem with Alice and Rose changing her clothes every few hours because she would just grow out of them within a few weeks. She was walking all by herself, which meant that she tried to chase around her aunts and uncles all the time. She never even went after the cat. Which we were worried about. I guess she knew it was a pet and wasn't on the 'menu'.

Her features had become… stunning, really. The sweetest, angelic face, deep brown eyes, thick bronze hair that fell down her back in ringlets. Her smile… holy hell. She could get you to do absolutely anything in the world by flashing you that smile. It was radiant, sweet, crooked, and dangerously addictive. You had to see that smile. I thought her daddy was bad… I had no effin clue.

I guess she had had enough of us trying to coax her into talking one day, and caved in. She had been sitting by the back windows, playing with some toys when she finally spoke up.

"Mommy, can I go hunting with you and daddy?" My little girl asked.

I was coming out of the laundry room, taking clothes upstairs, and dropped the laundry basket on the floor when I heard her.

I was so shocked that she spoke, that I didn't really pay attention to what she actually said. I shook my head after a few minutes, and so did Edward, Alice and Jasper.

"Wait, baby, you want to go hunting with us? Where did this come from?" I asked when I came out of my stupor.

"You guys always go out hunting, and I'm getting big enough to go too. I may not be able to chase the big animals, but I want to at least try. There are bunnies in the woods, why can't I try that?" Olivia asked.

I looked over at Edward, Jasper and Alice to see what they thought. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea yet, but I'm a mother, I'm not going to want my baby chasing animals of any kind when she's still this young.

"Alice?" I asked, hoping she would give me an answer one way or the other.

She got that glossy look in her eyes again, and I knew she was looking at the future. When she came back, she looked at me and smiled. "From what I can see, there doesn't seem to be any problems. When the others get back we can go."

Olivia started clapping and jumping up and down. Well I guess she's excited.

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><p>Rec for the week: 'The Heart of the Mafia' by brigidcullen (it's a good story)<p>

If anyone's got something good for me to read, throw it my way!

Laters!


	16. Chapter 16

Heya peeps! Ok, so here we are again. One thing I will say about this chapter is that I'll warn you all now that there is implied forced sex. It's not graphic in anyway, just part of the story to tell my way. I know that no one really knows Alice's back story, so my version is just that, mine. So please don't freak out on me.

We are getting to where I can finish this story in a few chapters. Chapter 17 is already done. But after that, I'm thinking 3 or 4 more chapters.

Anywho, Lola is my beta. She's awesome.

And I don't own it, I just like having fun with it.

Onward!

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><p>Chapter 16<p>

We headed out the back door and over the river. Edward carried Olivia on his back as we ran. As we made it to our hunting ground for the afternoon, Edward let Olivia off his back, and she started running around after the rabbits that were close by. It was one of the cutest things. She was pretty fast, but not quite as fast as we were.

We were thinking that she may grow into her speed. Her senses were pretty good. She could hear things everywhere. Her sight was amazing too. We were just going to have to keep an eye out for when things started changing with her. Right now, she looks like she's almost two. It was boggling to see her grow so quickly, but Carlisle always kept track of how much she changed. Even documented everything to see if it would ever slow and at what rate.

Alice and Jasper were off doing their hunt first, and we were staying with Olivia until they were done. Then they would watch her.

I can't shake this feeling of being on total alert. It's not something I usually feel when we hunt. It could be that Olivia's with us, but I feel like someone is close. But as soon as it comes, it leaves me. And I don't like it. At all. I don't have a good feeling about this.

We continue to hunt, and watch Olivia run around after anything that is smaller than her. She chased a squirrel up a tree, and caught it. We hadn't seen her do much of that yet. Mostly because the overprotective mom in me doesn't want her to hurt herself. And I guess, yes, she could be indestructible, but we haven't exactly tested out that theory. I don't plan to either…

"Mommy! Look! I caught it!" Livy exclaimed from the tree branch.

"I see, sweet girl! I'm so proud of you. You'll be able to hunt like the rest of us in no time." I praised my little angel.

Her sweet giggles rang through the air. It was the best sound, EVER.

It was about time for us to head back to the house. Olivia had expressed an interest to Edward that she wanted to at least try some human food, so we were going to do a little experimenting today. Even though she just had blood, she thought it might help if she was already full if she ended up not liking any of it. She just wanted to try and we told her that it would be her choice to do it.

I felt that same feeling from before, again. I looked up and around the trees to see if I could make out anyone being there, but I didn't see anyone.

It made me a little leery, so I made a move to go find out what it was.

"Bella, don't!" Alice stopped me. She ran to stand beside me. "Just don't. It won't end well."

I narrowed my eyes at her then reached my shield out around her and then touched her face, so that I could see what was going on. I saw that I came up on a male vampire that was hunting. He sees me approach and goes to defend his kill, and attacks me. Olivia decided to follow behind me and the man spots her and goes after her. I couldn't look anymore, and pulled my hand away. My breathing was coming in short pants.

Olivia was looking at me and knew something was wrong. She was incredibly intuitive for her age.

Edward was at my side instantly. "Come on. Maybe he'll take off and go the other way."

I picked Olivia up and put her on my back and we all took off towards the house. We were about fifteen miles away when we came across the scent of another vampire. It had to be the guy that Alice saw.

We all stopped in our tracks and looked around for where he could be. It didn't feel right, so I put my shield around my family members and hoped that this guy didn't have any gifts. Edward's eyes were trained forward, so that's where he had to be.

"You can keep passing through. We don't want any sort of trouble." Edward said to whoever was in the woods.

Then a man, about in his mid to late twenties, walked through the trees where the rest of us could see him. He had long blonde hair that was pulled back in a pony-tail, scruff on his face, and red eyes. He had no shoes on his feet, and wore jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt. He was really creeping me out just by looking at him. He seemed… off.

"Well, well. Out for a little Sunday afternoon stroll. How sweet." The man said in a not so nice voice. Damn it, he's going to cause problems. I can just feel it.

I slid Olivia down my back and she landed lightly on the ground. "Ali, take her."

The man's eyes snapped to Alice and he seemed to be remembering something. "Ah, little Alice Brandon. Nice to see you again." He said with a sinister voice.

Edward took a sharp intake of breath, apparently seeing something from the man's mind. And it didn't seem to be anything good either.

"Edward…" Alice tried to ask him.

"No, I'll tell you later, Pix." Edward told her without taking his eyes off of the man in front of us.

"What do you want? We're just tryin to get home. So if you'll just run along and leave us be, we won't stop you." Jasper said, calmly.

"Home? Since when do vampires have a permanent home? And why would a vampire have…gold eyes, such as yourselves?" The man asked. I really don't like his fucking tone.

"Vampires that are able to be around humans and can live peacefully, have permanent homes. And the reason vampires, such as ourselves, have gold eyes, is because we don't feed off of humans. We hunt animals. It allows us to live as humans would. They don't know what we are, unless they get too close, which we never allow." Jasper told the man as he stepped in front of Alice and Olivia in a protective way.

God I love that guy. He's an awesome brother.

The guy looked a little confused and narrowed his eyes. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Why the hell would you want to live around humans if you don't even drink them? What a fucking waste." The man said.

"Watch your language!" I couldn't help but say. The mother in me didn't want Olivia hearing that kind of language if we could avoid it. Emmett and Jasper slipped now and then, but we also implemented the swear jar.

His eyes finally zeroed in on Olivia and I didn't like it. "Why the kid? I thought you didn't feed off of humans…" he said, still staring at her.

That got me to go into 'mama bear' mode, because I crouched down into a defensive position, ready to protect her. Apparently, Edward was right there with me, because he took up the same position.

"She's none of your concern. Now, move along. We'd like to keep the knowledge of vampires to ourselves around here. Humans that know about us are a danger to all of us. So take your hunting activities elsewhere." Edward said, trying to stay calm. I could feel the tension and unease coming off of him.

The guy arched a brow at us, then backed away slowly. "Fine. I'll see you around. Oh and Alice, always a pleasure." He snickered the last part, and then took off into the trees.

"That son of a-"

"Alice!" Jasper stopped her.

"Come on, let's get Livy home, then we can talk about this." I said, then picked Olivia back up, kissed her on the cheek, and placed on my back again, then took off.

We made it home a few minutes later and I took Olivia upstairs to her room so she could play.

"Mama, who was that man? He was scary." Livy asked me from her spot on the floor, where she was playing with her dolls.

"I'm not sure, angel. But I'm gonna go talk to daddy about it. He should know something, and we'll be on the lookout if he tries to come back. You know we'll always protect you, baby girl." I told her. Then I knelt down and kissed her on her forehead.

"What the hell is going on, and why do I always fucking miss the fun?" Emmett asked around as I was coming down the stairs.

"Em, this guy wasn't exactly right. Something was weird about him." I said as I came into the living room.

I looked at Edward for information. He hung his head and started talking.

"His name is James, and he's a tracker. He could find any of us, at any given time. It's only easier when he knows the scent of who he's tracking. He had no clue that vampires would live around humans and not feed off of them. He's been a vampire for several decades and has lived all of it nomadically.

"He doesn't know of the Volturi. All he knows is to keep our secret from the humans. He doesn't know all of the stories or histories.

"He hunts without caution or care. He finds a human, he kills. He'll lurk around to find someone who smells the best, but he doesn't leave any area with out killing a few people.

"He has a mate. A redhead, named Victoria, and they've been together for a while. But he has no problem going off on his own and finding someone to have sex with, human or vampire." He paused, and I could tell there was more to what he was saying, but he didn't want to tell me. There was a slightly pained look on his face.

"Edward?" I reached out to him and touched his face, putting my shield over him. "Show me." I said, giving him a pointed look.

And he did. It was what he didn't want anyone to have to know about, especially Alice. Even though she's been dying to find out about her past. All she knew was that she woke up alone, with no memory of her past or how she became a vampire, and having visions of things she had no clue what they were.

But this… this was just… fucked up to the max.

I saw Alice, in a hospital room, or at least it looked like a hospital. It was more like a mental health facility. Alice was sitting on a bed, and it looked to be nighttime. Someone, and I'm guessing it was James, looked at her chart. I could see her name, age, where she was from, what she was in there for… What kind of parent puts their child in the nuthouse because they know what's going to happen next? Well, I guess back then, it was considered insane to know the future and tell people not to go to this place because something was going to happen. It's still frowned upon today, sometimes.

But then, things shifted. I was no longer looking at her chart… but at James… having sex… with Alice. He was not gentle, and looked like he was hurting her, but the drugs she was on didn't seem to let her have a clear mind to fight him. Not that she could have. Then I saw him bite her.

Oh god… he changed her.

Things were shifting again and then it went blank. Edward was hiding whatever this other part was, from me.

I was breathing heavily from what I had already seen, almost gasping for air. But whatever the next thing was left a murderous look in Edward's eyes.

"Edward, show me the rest of it." I said, sternly.

"Bella, please don't make me." He whimpered.

This was bad, really bad. "Edward Anthony Masen, I want to know what the hell is going on if that asshole comes back."

He pinched his eyes closed, dropped his head, and let the thoughts come at me. Now I wish I hadn't asked.

James was having thoughts of me. More specifically, laying me over a fallen tree in the woods and having sex with me, too. It was a disgusting sight, watching his fantasies like they were real and right in front of you.

I couldn't look anymore, so I let go of Edward, only to find his entire frame shaking with anger. I was shaking my head back and forth to try to get the thoughts out of my head. It was revolting that that man thought he had a right to have sex with someone else's mate.

"No!" Edward whimpered again, and pulled me as close and as tightly as he could.

We stayed that way for a few minutes, until someone cleared their throat.

"Umm, you guys want to fill in the rest of us?" Emmett prodded.

We all sat down in the living room, next to our mates.

"The reason he knows Alice, is because he's the one who changed her. He stalked her for a bit at the mental health facility that she was in when she was a human." Everyone gasped at that.

"Wait a sec! How did I get put in the loony bin?" Alice asked, trying to understand.

"From what was on your chart, your parents put you there. You were twenty years old when they put you in there. There was something on there about you saying that you were having visions of things that were going to happen, and then they did. And you would talk about 'weird' things to them that they didn't understand. It freaked them out and they thought you were crazy and needed help. So they took you to the psych ward of the hospital in Boston. They didn't know what else to do, apparently." Edward explained what we saw on the chart from James' thoughts.

"Well I guess we know why I'm always so crazy and bouncing off the walls." Alice joked, and we slightly laughed with her. "There's something else you're not telling me, what is it?"

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose, a sign of distress or nerves on his part, and I closed my eyes and hung my head.

"Bells, you know. Tell me what happened." Alice pleaded with me.

_Aw, fucking hell. Why do I have to be the one to tell her this shit?_

I looked over at Edward and his eyes were angered, pissed. He loved Alice like a sister and hated to see anything happen to her. And this shit with James just made him a target on Edward's shit list. Not to mention the things James wanted to do to me. That shot him up to number one on the list.

"He, uhh, came into your room one night at the hospital and… umm… Edward, I can't do this." I said, and then buried my head in Edward's chest.

"Shhh." He soothed me and wrapped his arms tightly around me. "Alice was heavily medicated, apparently, and James… had sex with Alice, and then bit her."

There was sudden chaos in the living room. Jasper had shot up out of the chair he was in, breaking it because of the grip he had on it and screaming at the top of his lungs. Emmett was holding back Jasper from running out of the house after James and Edward had to get up and help him. Carlisle was holding Rosalie while her head was buried in his chest. Esme was trying to hold Alice together on the floor, where she had sunk down to and was now screaming, too.

I went over to where Alice and Esme were, and held onto Alice as tight as I could. She needed the support right now.

After somehow calming Jasper down to where he could comfort Alice, and promises that if we ever came across James again that he was a dead man, we were all able to focus on things again.

"All I know about what happened to me was that I woke up in the woods, alone, wearing a fugly uniform that had the name Mary Alice on it. I felt so weird when I moved from the spot I woke up in. but it… was different. I felt like it was normal to me. Like I was supposed to be a vampire. And I made the choice to feed off of animals, instead of humans. Things weren't so clear to me, because no one explained them, but as time went, I learned things. But the thing I remember most was when I first woke up, I had a vision of a man with shaggy blonde hair, a crooked smile, and a southern drawl. I saw Jasper before I ever knew we were supposed to be together. But several years later, I had the same vision and went to the diner in Philadelphia. He came in about thirty minutes later, and I told him that he had kept me waiting long enough." She told us then looked into Jasper's eyes.

"My apologies, ma'am." Jasper said back to her with a crooked grin, then leaned in and kissed her tenderly.

"I thought we were the sickeningly sweet ones. Jeez Jasper." Edward joked, and we all laughed.

"Oh you are, Edward. But remembering how the one thing that changed my entire life as a vampire makes it ok." Jasper said with a wink.

"Aww, Jazz you're incredibly cheesy." I cooed at him, and then chuckled.

"Shush it, Tink. I don't make fun of you and Edward when you're being all mushy." He said, smiling.

I raised an eyebrow at him. That was total bullshit and he knew it.

"Ok, not as much as Emmett does." Jasper conceded.

"Hey!" Emmett defended.

We all had to laugh at that. Emmett knew he was a pain in the ass when we wanted to show our affections to our mates when we're around the rest of the family. And had no problem teasing us about it, either.

Edward's head was nestled into my back, between my shoulder blades, and I knew he was wallowing from the thoughts of James wanting me. I knew he hated it with a fiery passion.

"Come on. No more of this." I told him quietly and grabbed his hand and headed upstairs.

Once we were in our room and the door was locked, the clothes were flying everywhere. When I landed on the bed, he was right on top of me. He attacked my neck, nipping, sucking and biting. This wasn't sweet and slow, it was hard and rough.

He didn't waste any time, and entered me quickly, sliding all the way in. Because really, there was no need for foreplay. We were both ready.

"Oh God, Edward!" I moaned, then wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling myself to meet each of his thrusts.

I felt him hit deeply each time, hitting the most delicious spots every time. I grabbed onto his shoulders so tightly that if we had been humans, there would have been blood drawn. And his hands were firmly gripping my hips while he pushed deep inside.

"Oh Bells, you're always so fucking tight. Ugh. Baby, I love you." He panted into my ear.

Edward began slamming his hips against mine. He filled me to the hilt. I moaned against his mouth as he moved within my body. My fingers gripped his bronze hair, and pulled. He grunted and moved faster in me. His hands moved to my breasts, lightly kneading them.

He was moaning loudly into my mouth. I hooked my arm around his head, pulling his mouth to mine. My stomach started to clench and I was about to snap, ready for my orgasm.

"Oh shit! Edward, I'm cumming!" With each thrust that Edward filled me with, created a new wave of pleasure.

"Me too. Come with me, beautiful!" He grunted and he sped up his movements.

"OH FUCK EDWARD!" I moaned loudly as my muscles clenched around his cock. My orgasm triggered his and he groaned against my mouth.

"Christ, Bella!" he said as he tightened his hold around my waist. His cock twitched and felt him spill into my body.

Edward held me tightly against his chest. "Holy hell," Edward murmured against my ear, gently licking along my neck. "That was amazing, beautiful."

"I can't wait to marry you. We've only got a couple of months left." I said as I laid my head against his chest.

"Me either." He said quietly. But I could tell something was still bothering him.

"What is it? I know that look. Is it James that's still bothering you?" I asked, looking up into his face.

He sighed and looked at me.

"Yeah. I don't have a good feeling about him. He was heading north, but I've got this feeling that he's going to come back here. I don't trust that we've seen the last of that asshole. And if I see him again, I'll kill him myself. I know Jasper wants a shot at him, but he will pay for what he did and what he thought he could do."

"Trust me, if he shows his face here again, I'll rip his balls off and shove them down his throat before I let you and Jazz rip him apart and let Alice set fire to his ass. That sounds like a good plan to me." I said with venom.

"Me too, baby. Me too. Alice and Jasper won't have any objections to it, I'm sure."

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><p>Good? Bad? Ugly? Let me know.<p>

I would rec this week, but I'm in the middle of a story, so far it's awesome, but I wanna finish it before I hand it off to you guys.

I know I told you that the next chapter is done, but I'm still gonna wait til next week to post. Where's the fun in posting both at the same time? Lol

Laters peeps!


	17. Chapter 17

Heya! Alright, who is ready for the big day? I know I've skipped over some parts of their vampire life, but I need to keep this story rollin. But I hope you guys like this chapter.

Small note: for this chapter, think of Bella's hair from the Breaking Dawn trailer for her wedding hair. Just f.y.i. And pretty much just very Breaking Dawn trailer with most of the wedding setup, as well. (Because I loved it and have always dreamed of that kind of magical look for my wedding.)

You all know the drill, Lola(LaurieWhitlock) is my beta and favorite Jasper junkie:p muahs

And of course I don't own it, but I love playing with it….that's what she said. Lol ok I'm done.

Enjoy!

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><p>Chapter 17<p>

BPOV

The morning of our wedding was here before we knew it. We've been vampires for a little over a year now. And Olivia will 'officially' be one in a couple of months. Even though she looks like she'll be four.

It amazes me, how much she's grown in just a year. I miss being able to hold her, and feed her, and give her a bath. Although we still help her with her baths, she is adamant about taking them herself. She's becoming this little independent girl. And I don't know if I'm ready for that.

Surprisingly, she took to some human food when we tried her on it. At first, she was a little wary of it, but once she tried a few different things, she found that she could tolerate it. And she never had to throw it back up, like the rest of us did. Apples were her favorite thing. She always had to have one with whatever she decided to eat, if she wasn't hunting with us.

And now, we're all running around, getting ready for mine and Edward's wedding.

Carlisle was going to perform the ceremony for us, since we were still considered dead. We didn't want to cause any suspicions among any of the people we knew.

The reason it took us so long to get to this point, was because we were waiting on papers. We wanted to keep our original names, but would be to conspicuous if Isabella Swan and Edward Masen showed up married out of the blue, when they're suppose to be dead. So what we did was change my name to Masen, and Edward's to Cullen. Either way, we were going to become Cullens, so it only made sense to change it now. But we both knew we would still go by Isabella Marie Swan Masen Cullen, and Edward Anthony Masen Cullen. Long, I know. But that's how we wanted it. I still wanted Edward's original surname, along with our new one. And Edward supported me in my choice.

Rosalie actually told us after we had talked to them about this, that she did the same thing. Her full name ended up being Rosalie Lillian Hale McCarty Cullen. And it works for her.

And since Alice never knew her real last name until a few months ago, she was always Mary Alice Cullen. She never had the urge to add Whitlock to her name. But they would use it if they needed to when they moved around.

Olivia was sitting on our bed, playing dress up with her doll so that the doll was ready for the wedding too. _Very important, obviously._

While she was out in our room, Alice, Rosalie and I were in our bathroom, trying to get me ready.

I wasn't nervous. Not at all. I've been waiting for this ever since I met Edward on campus that day. I didn't know it at the time, but I wanted this. How he made me feel like I was beyond beautiful from the very beginning, and made my heart warm. I knew I wanted it then.

Alice was putting the last touches to my hair while Rosalie was doing my make-up. Alice did a simple, but elegant up-do that made me feel like I was back in the early 1900's. It was stunning.

And Rosalie went super light with the makeup. Not too much was put on, but she did put on some brown eye shadow to accent my gold eyes. Thank god that they had finally turned several months back, before our encounter with James. I don't think I could have stood the red eyes for much longer. They freaked me out a bit when I looked in the mirror.

And she also added a little powder and some pink lipstick.

"Bells. It's time to get your dress on." Alice said in my ear. I didn't even realize that I had spaced out there for a minute, because they were both done. And when I looked in the mirror, I looked so incredibly beautiful.

I smiled at both of them in the mirror, then turn and hugged both of them.

Alice held out my dress for me, and I stepped into it. She pulled it up around me and Rose helped hold it in place. It was such a simple dress, but utterly beautiful. It was all flowing chiffon material, strapless, with an empire waist. And the fabric just flowed straight down into an A-line to the floor.

"It's a damn shame I'm only going to wear this once. It's a gorgeous dress." I said to them.

"Well it's not like you guys can't get married again. We've done it several times." Rosalie said, and I was a little shocked.

"Huh?" I asked dumbly.

"We get married again once a decade. Just to renew our feelings and such. Alice and Jasper do too, but they do it every other decade. Esme and Carlisle don't, though. But we just felt like it was something that would remind us that we're married and always will be. Even though we're mates, the renewing of vows makes us feel reconnected." Rosalie explained.

"Wow. Well, I'm only planning on the one, but in ten years, if I decide I want to do this again, I'll tell you, you were right." I smiled at her and she winked back.

"Alright, you two. Break it up. We've got a wedding to get downstairs to. And a little girl that I doubt is finished getting ready…" Alice said the last part where Olivia could hear it, and a second later, Livy was standing in front of us.

"Mama, you look so pretty. You look like a princess." Olivia said, looking at me in awe.

"Aww, thank you, sweet girl. But Aunt Ali and Aunt Rose needs to help you get ready, so let them put your dress on, so we can get downstairs to see daddy." I leaned down and kissed her.

I walked out to our room, and there was a knock at the door. I walked over to it and opened it to see Carlisle.

"Wow, Bella. You look so beautiful. Edward really is lucky. Are you all almost ready? He's getting anxious down there. Jasper's trying to calm him down a bit before he makes the whole house into a nervous wreck." He laughed.

I shook my head. Of course he's nervous. We're only mates, which have a very powerful child together, and can't be away from each other for very long. I can see exactly why he's nervous… (heavy on the sarcasm)

He's going to pull all of his hair out if he keeps running his hands through it like I know he's doing right now." I said.

"I am not, Bell!" I heard from downstairs. Then heard the snickers from Emmett and Jasper, then the smack to the back of the head that I'm sure Edward landed on one of them.

"Right. And stop hitting your brothers! This is our wedding! I don't want any rough housing going on!" I said down the stairs, where I knew they could hear me.

"TOO LATE, BELLS" Emmett and Jasper yelled back up.

"Oh Christ, help me." I muttered.

"I heard that Tink!" Emmett yelled up.

"Alright, that's enough! Go get in your places, so I can get married!" I yelled at them.

_Why didn't I get a normal wedding planner again? Oh right, we're vampires, and Alice took over everything…_

I was now standing at the back door with Carlisle beside me, ready to go out to my husband. I watched as Olivia walked down the stairs with a little basket in her hands, tossing white rose petals along the path to the archway that had been setup. The archway was magnificent, by the way. It was mostly tree branches with white flowers all over the place.

Olivia was wearing a miniature version of my dress, and it was just so adorably cute on her. And with her bronze ringlets flowing down her back, she was a complete vision.

Once she was done tossing the flowers, Carlisle squeezed my hand to see if I was ready. I looked up at him and he had a look of pride on his face.

"Thank you for doing this for me, dad." I told him with so much emotion. I know he could never truly replace Charlie, but he was a new dad for me, now. And he loved me like I was his own daughter. It made me feel special and honored.

"Thank you for asking me, sweetheart. You and Edward know you're our children now too, so anything I can do to help, and I'll jump at the chance. You know I'd do anything for my children. And my granddaughter." He said, then leaned down and kissed my cheek.

_Shit, am I glad I can't cry today._

Carlisle and I walked down the stairs, and along the path that went almost to the river. I found Edward standing under the archway, with Olivia beside him, waiting for me. I never took my eyes off of him. I couldn't. This is what we had been waiting for since the night our lives changed forever. One stalled car on the side of the road brought us to this wonderful family. We had sisters, brothers and parents now, and they loved us just as much as we loved them. We have our beautiful little girl that has grown so much already. We had what we'd always dreamed of.

_And now, we're getting married._

We made our way further down the path, where we stopped under the archway, where Edward was.

Carlisle took my hand and put it in Edward's, and then took his spot in front of us.

"Since its just family here, I'm going to skip most of the formalities. We're here today, to not only share in the union of a husband and wife, but mates as well. The two of you have been together, long before your change. That bond only grew once you became vampires. Today, you will finally join that last piece of the puzzle that comes with your eternal love, and the Holy Father. I know you both want to say some thing to each other, so I'll let you do that now. Bella, dear." Carlisle stated.

I cleared my throat to begin. "Edward, when you ran into me that first day, I had no clue where I would end up. But I have never been more grateful for my clumsiness, then I was that day. You were so wonderful to me; you've never made me feel less than beautiful… You were there for me when Charlie died, and you held me together. That day in the attic, I knew that I couldn't live without you in my life, and that I wanted you forever. And here we are, with forever, literally in front of us. You gave me love, devotion, care, a shoulder to cry on, companionship, a life that I probably would have never gone after on my own, and a beautiful daughter. I can never thank you enough for coming into my life. I love you so very much." I said with all the love and passion I had in me.

I saw Edward swallow, like he had a lump in his throat. And stared straight into my eyes.

"My beautiful. I couldn't believe how lucky I've been in the past few years. I knew when you said yes to going out with me, that I had never met anyone quite like you. You were completely different than all the other college girls that hit on me. You were the one that was a no B.S. type, that didn't care if someone told you off, because you would put them in their place. You were strong, and always gave as good as you took. But you were also very shy sometimes. Like when I asked you to marry me. You didn't want to be the center of attention, but you took it with stride. You're the mother of our daughter, you're the bestest friend I ever had, the great love of my life, and you're my beautiful. I wanted forever with you before, but now, it seems to be truer than I ever thought. I'll never stop loving you, even if I become a pile of ashes."

_Gah, now I'm REALLY glad I can't cry._

Carlisle took over again and asked for the rings. "Edward, place the ring on Bella's finger and repeat after me…"

And he did. He slid the ring on my finger and told me, "I, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, take you, Isabella Marie Swan, to be my wife, my constant friend, my faithful partner and my lover from this day forward. In the presence of God, and our family, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you, to honor and respect you, and to cherish you for as long as we both exist." He then kissed my hand, over my ring.

The ring felt so right on my finger. It was suppose to be there.

"Bella, please take the ring and place it on Edward's finger and repeat after me, dear…" Carlisle told me.

I took the ring from him and slipped it on Edward's finger. "I, Isabella Marie Swan, take you, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, to be my husband, my constant friend, my faithful partner and my lover from this day forward. In the presence of God, and our family, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you, to honor and respect you, and to cherish you for as long as we both exist." I repeated Edward's sentiment and kissed hiss hand over his ring as well.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. Edward, you may kiss you bride." Carlisle said with a huge smile.

"With pleasure." Edward replied.

Then he cupped my face and kissed me sweetly, swiping his tongue slightly over my bottom lip to let him in. And I did. But it wasn't crude. It was perfect. And I had to slide my hands into his hair. It's just a habit that I can't help.

'Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you, Mr. and Mrs., Edward Anthony Masen Cullen." Carlisle announced to our family, who decided to squeal, hoot and holler, and clap happily.

We turned to face our family and were embraced by each one of them.

After all of that, we danced for a bit. Since none of us ate, there was obviously no point for food. So the 'reception' part of the wedding was short.

The family was going to take Olivia and go hunting after the wedding, so that Edward and I could have a 'wedding night'. It was actually really thoughtful of them.

"I'll see you in the morning, ok pretty girl?" I asked Olivia when they were getting ready to head out.

She nodded, hugged me tightly, and kissed my cheek before she did the same with Edward.

"Ok, so how far are you guys going out?" I asked, of course, being the protective mother.

"We'll probably hit just past the Canadian border. It'll take us a good hour or two, at least, to get there. I'll carry her on my back the whole time." Jasper told me exactly what I needed.

I smiled at him and hugged him. He loves that little girl so much.

"Ok, we'll see you guys when we get back. Don't tear the house down, please. I'd like to keep this one to come back to, one day." Esme told us as she was walking to the door.

The others followed and were gone without another word.

Edward turned to me with heated eyes. "Now, my beautiful wife, how about we… consummate this marriage the right way." he kissed my lips, firmly, then swept me up into his arms.

"You're kidding, right? We have a child, don't you think we've-" I started, but he stopped me with another kiss.

"Bella, indulge me, baby. I want to ravage your body tonight, as many times as I can." He said with a smirk, and then bolted upstairs to our room to make love to me… and I lost count of how many times…

It was the next week after the wedding that things started to get screwy.

Alice started getting these weird flashes in her head, but she couldn't figure out what they were from, or who.

She wasn't worried too much about it, at first. They were just snippets that didn't tell you much. I even made her show me. I couldn't make anything of it either.

But one night when we were all playing games in the living room, apparently something happened.

Alice was sitting with Jasper and Emmett while they played Rock Band; Edward was teaching Olivia how to play chess, which was the coolest thing you've ever seen. With both of them on even playing fields, they could actually play. Edward could play someone other than Alice now. Hah!

I was playing cards with Esme, while Carlisle was on his way home from the hospital after his shift.

Alice let out a loud gasp and stood up. Jasper stopped the game, and rushed over to where Alice was now pacing.

Edward was obviously looking at what she was seeing too, because he shot up.

"NO!" He roared, looking at Alice.

"Don't ask, I have no clue. There's only so much that I can tell from these visions." She defended.

"When?" Edward gritted out.

"Less than two days. And we can't run. They'll just track us. We don't have a choice." Alice said.

I hated when they did this shit. Probably as much as the others did when I'm about to do what I'm going to do, but right now, I don't care.

I walked over to Alice, touched her cheek and waited. I knew she couldn't hold out long on me.

My eyes widened when I saw her vision.

"Oh fuck…"

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><p>So, did anyone like the wedding? Was it ok?<p>

I know, I left you with another cliffy. Sorry. But the next chapter is about halfway through. I'm surprised I've even gotten that far with it with all the shit that's been going on in my RL this week. Let's just say e.r. visits are a pain in the ass, and dealing with people that have way too many drugs in their system, well that's interesting in itself. Now my parents know why I'll never be a drug addict or an alcoholic.

Anywho, rec for the week: 'Work In Progress' by araeo. Funny as hell. You gotta read it. (Don't anger the Precious, Bella! Hehehehehehehehehehehe)

Laters!


	18. Chapter 18

Hey peeps! I've never been more glad that I got something done early. Lol

Word of warning, and this goes for both LK and DOD stories. I've started a new job, and writing may take a little longer than it has been. I'm going to try to at least still update once a week, if not, it'll be as soon as I can. I'm hoping not over two weeks. (gah that would suck majorly.

Anyways, usual stuff. Lola(LaurieWhitlock) is still my insane beta. (still no more Major for you!)

And SM owns it, not I.

Read on!

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><p>Last time on LK:<p>

_Alice let out a loud gasp and stood up. Jasper stopped the game, and rushed over to where Alice was now pacing._

_Edward was obviously looking at what she was seeing too, because he shot up. _

"_NO!" He roared, looking at Alice._

"_Don't ask, I have no clue who did it." She defended._

"_When?" Edward gritted out._

"_Less than two days. And we can't run. They'll just track us. We don't have a choice." Alice said._

_I hated when they did this shit. Probably as much as the others did when I'm about to do what I'm going to do, but right now, I don't care._

_I walked over to Alice, touched her cheek and waited. I knew she couldn't hold out long on me._

_My eyes widened when I saw her vision._

"_Oh fuck…"_

Chapter 18

BPOV

"Who the hell are they?" I almost yelled.

"The Volturi. They're the ones we said could come after us, if they found out about Olivia, or the two of you. We told you that they've already been after us to get me and Jasper, but we refused to go with them." Alice told me.

_Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck. This won't end well…_

"Alice, we can't stay here. If they come here, I don't even want to know what they'll do to her." I whispered to her, trying to hide some of my panic.

"Bella, we can't run. Did you not hear me a while ago? They have some of the best trackers in the world in the Volturi guard. They'd find us where ever we went. Our scents would be too fresh by the time they got here. It we had had an extra day to get away, then maybe we could have had a chance to. But they are determined to get here as quickly as possible. From what I can see, so far they're coming to find out what's going on with a vampire problem, not far from here. But Aro seems determined to pay us a visit." Alice explained.

I was slightly shaking my head as I thought about it. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to think of a way to get out of this shit.

"Maybe if it's just the three of us to go, they'll think we were only passing through. They would have no reason to follow us. And you guys can try to head them off. I'm not going to risk them finding her and trying to hurt her. You can't ask me to do that. Is there somewhere around that can be used for us to stay there? I want us to be far enough away that they won't catch on that we're close and track us." I reasoned.

"Bell? Forks." Edward whispered to me.

"Dad's house." It was still on the market. No one back in Forks wanted to tarnish the Chief's memory or house, so no one wanted to buy it at first. And not many people move to Forks. Why would they? It's a small, _small_ town. It's only every five years, maybe, that someone moves there. Dad's only been gone for two years. And with the economy, there's no wonder that it hasn't sold yet. But I guess it's good that it hasn't. It's far enough away that the Volturi won't make chase for us. "It would be perfect. It's only a couple hours drive from here. And we could run there in, maybe, less than an hour. We have to at least try."

Carlisle finally made it home and caught what we were just saying. "What's going on? What happened?" He asked.

We filled him in on the vision Alice had and I told him about the house in Forks and how that might be the best place for us right now.

He thought over it for a moment then turned to us. "I think you may be right, Bella. That would probably be a safe distance away, and I don't think they would follow. But if we're going to do this, it has to be now. The longer you three are here, the stronger your scent is. You need to get going soon. Get some things for you and Olivia, and make sure you've got a phone with you. We'll only communicate through the girls if we have to." The girls, meaning Olivia and Alice. Alice has been able to send her visions to Olivia, but Olivia hasn't been able to do so yet. We want to keep working on it, though.

I nodded, grabbed Olivia and went upstairs to get some stuff together.

Once we had a bag together, I took Livy back downstairs. Edward was talking to Carlisle in the kitchen, and the others were in the living room, waiting. I set Olivia down and she went into the living room with the others and started giving them hugs and telling them bye.

"Be careful, son. Hopefully this will all be over in a couple of days and you all can come home. Take care of our girls." Carlisle said, and squeezed Edward's shoulder.

"I will, Carlisle." Edward said, then hugged Carlisle.

I walked into the kitchen and Carlisle walked over to me and hugged me also.

"Stay safe, dear. We will see you soon." Carlisle said to me.

"You all be safe too. I don't want any of you getting hurt because of us." I said as we pulled apart. He grabbed my chin, then kissed my cheek.

I went back to the living room and said goodbye to the others. After trying to assure Esme that we would be fine, I put Olivia onto my back and Edward and I took off towards the woods.

It took us a while, going through the Olympic Peninsula and all the mountains, but I could tell when we were close to Forks. Things were much more lush green and there were fallen trees.

Edward seemed to remember the way to dad's old house, because we walked out of the tree line right behind the house.

It looked just as I remembered it. A white, two story house, huge tree on the side and in the front yard. The old tree house from when I was a kid was still there, as well. Someone still came by to trim around the house so it didn't get over grown with vines and weeds.

"I think the window to my old room still hasn't been fixed. I'll try it and see if we can get in without actually breaking in." I said as I slid Olivia down my back, to the ground.

Edward nodded and grabbed Olivia's hand. I made my way across the dark lawn and to the tree that led up to my old bedroom. I scaled the tree and tried the window. And as I expected, it wasn't locked.

I had broken the lock on the window when I was twelve and dad never fixed it. Mostly because it was on the second floor and not many people would climb up this dangerous tree to try it.

I looked around the room and it felt totally empty. Well, it should, but I just remember all of my things being in here. My bed with the purple bedding, my desk that sat in the corner near the window, all the pictures I had on the walls.

I guess I took longer than I thought looking around because I felt someone behind me.

"Bell, it's ok to think about him. I know you miss your dad, but it's good to remember." Edward said quietly as he pulled me to his side.

"I know. It's just hard to think about sometimes. I wish he'd gotten the chance to meet you." I told him.

He kissed my temple, "I know, baby." Then let me go, grabbed Olivia and walked downstairs.

We made a 'fort', if you will, out of the house. There was no electricity, and no water (not that we needed it). And we were just hanging out, waiting until we heard word from the others if the Volturi had left.

That's what we were doing now. Waiting.

And it was completely boring. All we could do was take Olivia outside at night, so no one would see us and know someone was in the house. And go hunting.

I just hope our family calls soon so we can go home. I miss them.

CPOV

We had been waiting for the past day and a half for the Volturi to show up. Edward, Bella and Olivia left us to try to hide, and I hoped that it would work. At least maybe the Volturi won't think anything of it and leave it alone. We've had a vampire here and there stop by and visit with us to try to understand our way of living. Most left still not quite grasping why we did it.

In our waiting, Alice had seen that they would be here soon. I had a feeling that things wouldn't turn out well, but I hoped that Alice would see anything that would possibly pose a problem for our family.

"Alice Anythin else?" Jasper asked her. They were watching out the front window for any signs that they could possibly sneak up on us.

"No. It's the same as before. They should be here within the hour." Alice replied.

Esme's been pacing for the last two hours in the dining room. I've been trying to get her to calm down some, but nothing really works. Her babies are in potential danger, and she's freaked out.

Emmett and Rosalie have been out, trying to see if they can spot any scents that aren't familiar to us. So far they haven't found anything.

We waited a little while longer, then Alice's eyes got that far away look.

"They're almost here. We need to get into place so they won't think anything is off." Alice said, walking away from the window.

We were going to make sure that things seemed normal. I hoped that by doing our everyday thing, they wouldn't think that we've had three new vampires living with us for about a year. And all that it entailed with those three.

I had told the others to try their best not to let anything slip. We've all been around long enough to perfect the little lies we need to tell to get by with the world, but this is also our family that we're dealing with.

"Remember; don't touch Aro, if you can avoid it at all. And if it does come to that, I need you to do everything you can to block out anything about Edward, Bella and Olivia. I won't blame you if you can't help it from slipping, but we need to do whatever we can to not let them see Olivia. I want my granddaughter to come home to us." I told them all.

They each nodded as they went to get ready for their activities. Jasper and Emmett would be playing one of their video games, because that is a normal thing for them. Esme would be up in her office, working on plans for a home that she has been asked to decorate. Alice would be on the back porch, sketching for her clothing line she has been working on. And Rosalie would be out in the garage, working on the cars.

I would be in my office, under the guise of working on paperwork from the hospital. Of course, I would be the one to answer the door.

We waited to hear anything. It was about mid-afternoon, and we could hear faint sounds from the woods. It grew closer, so we knew that it had to be them.

I looked around the living room one more time. Jasper and Emmett were heavily into their game. Alice was sitting over her sketchpad, but lifted her hands up, showing me seven fingers, telling me that's how many of the Volturi were coming.

_Damn. That means most of the guard came with them. _

I quickly went up to my office and sat at my desk, waiting.

The knock at the front door had me getting up and moving downstairs. They would hear that, no doubt. They like to scrutinize.

When I opened the door, I was greeted with Aro, Marcus and Caius. Aro was always one to look 'refined', as it were. He always had to have the best for his self. And he would be sure to reflect that to Marcus and Caius, as well. They're all very pretentious and self-righteous.

The four main guards were standing behind the three of them. Felix, Demetri, Alec and Jane.

The latter two were the ones that worried me. Jane and Alec were the two of the guard that had gifts that were debilitating. Jane could incapacitate you just by looking at you, and Alec could take away all of your senses.

_Crap, now I wish Bella WAS here…_

"Aro! What a wonderful surprise to see you all. Do come in." I ushered them inside.

"Carlisle, it has been a long time. You need to come to Volterra more often. I wish you would reconsider coming back to stay." Aro clapped me on the back. Thank goodness he didn't touch skin, yet.

"You know I can't do that. I love what I do too much to be away from it. And I have my family. I could never leave them behind." I told him, hoping he would drop it.

"You can always bring them with you. It would be an honor to have a few more gifted vampires around." He tried to sound like it was in our best interest and a joy for him. The only joy he would get from it would be the power that he knows Alice and Jasper could give him.

_That will never happen._

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to decline. But thank you. Jasper, Emmett, turn that mess off. We have company. Go get your mother and your each of your wives, please." I told them.

"Is mom upstairs?" Jasper asked me as he started towards where I was.

"Yes, she's working on some plans for a project." I told him, even though he already knew the drill for this.

He ran upstairs while Emmett ran out to the garage to get Rosalie. They all came back into the living room about the same time. Rosalie had on her coveralls that had oil all over them, and work gloves, as well. That would mean one less person that would have to touch Aro as long as she kept them on.

"Aro, you remember my family. Esme; my wife, and our children; Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper and Alice." I told Aro, as I wrapped an arm around Esme's waist. That way my hands are somewhat occupied. Emmett and Jasper did the same. This would help immensely.

"Of course. How could I forget such a lovely woman as Esme? And your wonderfully talented family. I am wondering, though, what that other scent is. Are there others that have joined you?" Right to the point. I knew he would do this if he smelled Edward, Bella and Olivia.

"We actually had a few passerby's stay with us for a while. They smelled us and found our home. They were like many that come through. They wondered about our eyes and our diet. Most don't understand our ways, much like yourselves. But we wouldn't change it either. They have their ways, we have ours. And we're happy with it. So what brings you all to the area?" I tried to steer the conversation to another route.

Aro didn't seem like he wanted to let that part go, but conceded for the moment. "We received word that there was a vampire, not far from here, causing trouble and raising suspicions. So we made the trip, and hoped that you were still in the area. And I'm so glad that you were." I really hate that look on his face sometimes.

"Well, as it is, Aro, I must be getting to the hospital soon. And the others were planning a hunting trip, up north. We weren't expecting anyone. Please except our apologies for not being able to stay for long. But, as you can see, the others are in need of blood." I motioned to the black eyes of my family members.

Hopefully the comment about going north would distract them from the direction that Edward and Bella took Olivia. Which was west.

"Of course, Carlisle. I'm sorry we didn't give you better notice. Next time, we'll have to catch up a bit more. We'll be on our way. It was wonderful to see you all again. Have a pleasant day." Aro said, reaching out to shake my hand.

_Shit. This is what I didn't want to happen._

I reached out and shook his hand, trying as hard as I could to not think of Edward, Bella and Olivia, and doing my best to block everything of them in my head from getting out.

I'm not sure if it worked, but Aro smiled and let go of my hand. He turned and shooed the others out of the front door.

Once they were gone, and we knew they were far enough away; I turned to Alice and Jasper.

"Jasper, do you think he knew?" I asked him as I started to pace.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure, but once he shook your hand, he had a lot of confidence and a cockiness comin off of him. I think he may know. At least somethin came through. It could have just been Bella and Edward, because I think he would have let more out if it was anythin about Livy. There's no way he wouldn't have been the smuggest bastard in the world if he had confirmed Livy's presence." Jasper said as he stayed by Alice's side. She seemed to be scanning the future.

"Damn it." I muttered as I hung my head. "Alice? Can you see anything?" I asked her.

She still had that far off look in her eyes, but they seemed too furrowed.

"I'm not sure. There seems to be several decisions going on at the same time, where they're concerned. It's hard to tell." Alice said as she shook her head.

"So what do we do?" Emmett asked.

"SHIT!" Alice yelled. Then jumped up to run out the back door.

"ALICE! What is it?" I yelled after her.

"They're going to Edward and Bella!" She called back to us as we ran after her.

NOT GOOD!

We cleared the river, only to be thrown to the ground by an unseen force.

_Jane._ She had to have stayed back far enough to keep an eye on us. Aro's little minion.

We were all writhing on the ground in pain.

"You really thought that you could keep this all from Aro? He may not have gotten you to admit to the child, but he was able to see the other two. You don't really think he would pass up this opportunity, do you? Aro will have the power over the vampire world. No one will stop him." Jane sneered at us in a sinister voice. She really is a brat.

"Jane… They'll never survive… Aro has no idea what he's dealing with…" I got out as much as I could with the pain I was in.

"He'll take his chances. He has someone already on it. Someone that is disposable." Jane said it like it was obvious.

Then she was gone. We were still stuck on the ground, in too much pain to try to move yet.

BPOV

We had been sitting here for the past day and a half, and we were trying to find something to do. Not that there was much. We were hoping that the call from Alice would come, but nothing yet. That made me a little concerned. Usually there would be regular updates from Ali, but maybe they were trying to keep things as low key and as little for Aro to see.

Edward had run down to the store because Olivia wanted human food today. Thank god it was always overcast here. He wouldn't be noticed too much.

I guess I hadn't gotten everything out of the house when we cleaned it out because there were a couple of boxes in the attic that I never saw. One was a box of dad's clothes, and the other was some pictures of him and my mom. I had always wondered if he had thrown them out or not. I guess this answered my question.

One was their wedding picture. They looked so in love then. I don't really know what ever happened for my mom to run out on us. I was young but I remember her not being happy in this town. She tried to be nice about it, but I could see it in her eyes.

I don't really think she was happy that I came along either. She was always trying to avoid being with me. I was always with my dad. He took more care of me than she ever did.

She never even tried to take me with her. She just packed up her shit one night while she was home with me, and put everything in her car, and left me there, alone. I called my dad at the station once she left and he actually started crying. I had never seen him cry in my whole life before.

I suddenly smelled something that I'd smelled before, but couldn't put my finger on it.

And just as soon as I smelled it, it was gone.

Then I remembered where I smelled that before. In the woods… with Edward, Olivia, Alice and Jasper…

_James!_

"NO!" I was down the attic stairs and the stairs down to the first floor in seconds, but I was obviously too late. Olivia wasn't down here where I left her.

"Livy! Baby where are you? Don't play hide and seek from mommy right now!" I prayed that that's all that was happening.

Then I smelled James' scent in the house. He was in here.

_Oh my god, he's got my little girl._

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><p>Ok, I'm going to hide behind the couch now. *runs and takes cover*<p>

I'm not sure how many more chapters at this point. I'm playing it by ear. We'll see. But, we are getting closer.

I will see you all next week!…. Maybe… I hope…

Laters!


	19. Chapter 19

Hello again all! So, I'm going to leave most of my author notes for the end. You'll see why later.

As per the usual, Lola is my beta. (and I love, love, love her so much for working on this story for me *hugs*)

And I sadly don't own Twilight, SM does.

Read on!

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><p>Chapter 19<p>

BPOV

I was out the back door and in the woods before I knew what I was doing. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Edward.

"Edward! He's got Livy! Get back to the house and follow my scent, North-east." I almost screamed into the phone.

"What? Baby, are you sure? She didn't just go out back somewhere? Who do you think took her?" Edward tried to tell me, but I knew it was James. I could hear Edward running.

"No, Edward. It was him! I was in the attic and I smelled James, and before I knew it, it was gone again, and I ran down to check on Livy and she was gone too. I smelled his scent in the house. Just hurry!" I told him, and shut my phone, putting it back in my pocket.

I was running through the trees, then felt Edward coming up behind me. He was very fast and I knew he could catch up to me if he was close enough to being back at the house.

He was finally beside me and I could tell he was ready to kill James. And probably me, too.

"Are you mad at me?" I asked him, timidly.

He was breathing in and out and I knew he was trying to rein in his anger.

"No. Knowing him, he waited until we were away from her and he pounced on the opportunity. He was probably waiting in the woods, just out of our range." Edward said, without looking my way.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

He whipped his head around to me. "Bella, don't you dare. We had no clue that he would come for her. He's probably taking her to get to you. He wanted you the last time we saw him, and I wouldn't put it past him to barter her for you." Edward said.

"_Fucker!_" I hissed.

"We'll get her back, baby. I'll rip him to shreds." Edward said with confidence.

We finally found a solid trail of his scent. He kept going in a random pattern in the woods, and we caught another scent that wasn't familiar. He had to be working with someone.

"Edward, do you recognize that other scent? It's not just him." I said, as we were flying through the trees.

"Yeah, I caught it. I'm not sure who it is, but they're gonna die too, for helping that asshat." Edward was fuming now.

My phone started vibrating in my pocket, and I knew it had to be Alice.

"Alice! Why didn't you tell me he was going to take her?" I almost yelled into the phone.

"What? What the hell are you talking about? I was calling to warn you about the Volturi. They were heading your way when they left here. But their little minions stopped us before we could get much further than the river. Now what are you saying? 'He' who?" Alice was frantic now. I could hear the rest of them as they were running through the woods, as well.

"James! He was at the house. Edward was gone and I was in the attic. Livy was downstairs and then I smelled him. He came in the house and took her. Edward thinks he was waiting for us to leave her open to him. And that James probably wanted her to get to me. You haven't seen anything about him, Ali?" I tried to explain to her.

"Oh my god, B. I swear I haven't seen him in any visions. But-" She started, then cut herself off.

She was quiet for a moment, but I could tell she was still running.

"Bell, somehow he was working with them. I don't know how, but I see him with Aro, and he's got Livy." Alice said, quietly, but I heard several viscous growls. One from beside me, and five from the other end of the phone. Maybe even my own. I couldn't even tell right now.

"Alice? Where are they?" I was getting pissed that these assholes would think they can just take my daughter.

"A clearing. That's where they were going to meet up. It's not far from where you guys are now. We're almost there." She told me, and then the line went dead.

I couldn't even think straight right now.

_How the hell did he get involved with this group of fuckers? Not that their nature didn't suit him…_

We were coming up on the clearing that Alice had told us about. It was rather large, and very open. A few boulders around the edges, along with tons of trees around that. I could smell vampires near us, but they weren't the Cullens.

We backed away, so whoever was around wouldn't smell us, and looked for the rest of our family. We found them about halfway around to the other side, behind a large grouping of boulders.

"Have you guys seen anything yet?" Edward asked.

"Not much. We saw Demetri come through and make sure no one was around. We had to back away for a moment, but I don't think he smelled us. From what Jasper and Alice can tell, they're waiting for James on the other side of the clearing. The Volturi are waiting in the woods until he gets here." Carlisle said in a low voice.

We nodded, not liking this at all. I want my daughter back.

I think Jasper smelled it first, because his nostrils began to flair. He's always been able to smell further than the rest of us. The Volturi took this time to slowly make their way into the clearing.

Then we saw James emerge from the other side of the clearing, holding Olivia under his arm like a freaking sack of potatoes.

_Fucking asshole!_

"You fuckers better keep up your end of the deal. This little brat was harder to get here than I thought." James sounded perturbed.

"Of course I will hold up my end. As soon as we are back in Volterra, you will have what we agreed upon. And I have no doubt that they will be there in no time at all. The small one is always a little too… interesting for her own good." Aro said.

James got this wicked gleam in his eye. "Yes, she is…" No doubt, he was talking about Alice.

And sure enough, Alice let out a low growl. Yeah, she was pissed. I could see it in her eyes, because they were on fire.

Olivia was obviously able to hear his thoughts, because she proceeded to squirm, and scratch at James.

"Quit it, you little runt… She better be as valuable as you say she is. I'd just as quickly turn the little shit loose." James struggled with Olivia.

She wiggled almost out of his arms, to the ground, but he grabbed her arm and snatched her back to him.

I had had just about enough of this motherfucker.

Before I really knew what I was doing, I was already making my way into the clearing, and standing in front of the Volturi and James.

I stared James down, seething. "You're going to hand me my daughter back, you little prick."

James just smirked at me with a raised eyebrow. "I'll show you a good prick, but I guarantee it's not little, honey."

_Ok, that's just disgusting. I think I threw up a little in my mouth. _

"Momma!" Olivia cried to me. She had the look in her eyes like she wanted to climb a wall. She had to see what was going on in James' head, and she didn't like it. And she went back to trying to scratch at him, even though it was futile.

"Ooo, feisty. I hope your mother is just as feisty, pretty thing." He did not just say that.

The hissing coming out of Olivia's mouth, I had never really heard before.

Then I heard the most thunderous roar from behind me, which sounded like a lion. Along with the heavy breathing, I knew was coming from Edward.

"What the fuck!" James looked confused and surprised.

"Daddy!" Olivia cried, looking around, hopefully.

I didn't have to see that Edward was now behind me, I could feel him. And the anger and fury coming off of him in waves, also.

"Your mind is beyond a filthy place to be, _James._ You can keep your disgusting thoughts about my wife to a dull roar. No one wants to hear them. Out loud or otherwise." Edward was really only holding himself together by holding onto me.

"Well I can't exactly help it if she wants me, now can I?" James said, rather smugly.

_What the hell is this guy smoking?_

"You're delusional if you think I'd ever touch you with a ten foot pole." I said, defensively.

I saw that sickening smirk on his face again. Then felt Edward stiffen behind me, and hold onto my waist, tighter.

"I will drop you where you stand if you don't knock that shit off." Edward seethed behind me.

"Oh, that's right. Tanya told me about you. You're the little mind reader, aren't you?" James sneered at us.

_Woah, woah, woah… WHAT?_

"What the hell are you doing hanging out with that lunatic?" I asked, trying to stay semi-calm. I don't know if it worked though.

James just smiled.

"She's the reason he went to the Volturi. She told him about our gifts, and what Olivia was. And they 'recruited' him to the guard… Telling him he could have a plethora of blood from the people there. But he doesn't know what's going to happen when they get back to Volterra…" He lowered his voice with the last sentence. But I hope that James heard it. It would serve his dumb ass right.

I heard a throat clear, and looked up to see Aro staring at Edward and me.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we have been introduced, my dear. My name is Aro. And who might you two be?" Aro said, almost in a way that would make me believe that he might be on the up and up, if I hadn't known what an asshole he already was, and how deceitful he was.

"We might be the parents of the child that James is holding hostage. We also might be two very angry vampires because someone tried to harm our family, and take our daughter. I, for one, don't take kindly to someone going after my own flesh and blood." I snarked back.

Aro raised an eyebrow at my statement. "Well, either way, she will be coming with us. Even if she was a forbidden child, she would be coming with us. But now that we know for sure that she is Una Potente, she will become my right hand in Volterra."

"I'll give you 'right hand'." I changed forward, only to see James grasp Olivia harder.

"Just hold on, right there, hot stuff. I've got too much to gain without you going all warrior princess. Now just back that sexy ass back up and we'll be on our way." James tried to cajole me. This only made me want to vomit, even more.

"LIKE HELL YOU WILL!" My voice was rising to a dangerous level, along with my anger. And I could feel it just as heavily from Edward, as well.

_I'm not letting these fucknuts take my daughter anywhere, if I have anything to say about it._

"Now dear, be reasonable. This is best for all vampires. We can not have an untamed vampire, especially a child vampire, running around without being properly taught how to negotiate our world." Aro reasoned.

_Really?_

"Don't you mean take them and turn them into your personal body guards?" Edward snapped.

_Oh shit, he's about to lose it._

Aro looked seriously taken back. But we already knew he just wants a power boost for his own pleasure.

"I beg your pardon? Who are you to talk to me that way?" Aro defended.

"You know what? I don't care who you are. If you think you are just going to accept the words of two people that have had a problem with us before, over our own, then you've got problems. Tanya and James both wanted what they couldn't have. And of course, James has no value, what-so-ever for a vampire's way of life. His feeding habits aren't exactly discreet. Far from it, actually. Especially when he goes into hospitals and violates innocent young girls, bites them, and leaves them to die. He's just lucky she found herself in the woods outside of the hospital." Edward bit back at them.

James didn't even try to hide the fact that he had, if fact, done just what Edward said.

But then we heard a feral growling coming from behind us. It wasn't like Edward's roaring earlier, but it was still a viscous sound.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Jasper running from the tree line. Then Edward grabbed Jasper from behind, so he wouldn't attack The Volturi or James. I think he was more or less going for James, personally. God only knows what kind of emotions he had running through his head after Edward said what he did.

I chanced a look back and saw the others had tried to run after Jasper to stop him, but weren't quick enough. So they moved to stand with the rest of us, and Alice tried to calm Jasper down as only she could. And you could tell how hard he was fighting it. Emmett had to join Edward to restrain Jasper, as well.

This shit was just getting too far out of hand.

**Livy? Baby, can you hear mommy?** I thought to my daughter, thanking god that we had been playing with this kind of stuff since she was a couple of months old.

**Yes, momma.** She answered me. Even then, she sounded so innocent and sweet.

**Baby, I want you to listen to me carefully. The woman behind the three mean men there, I want you to absorb her gift and use it on all of these other people. I know we've told you not to do this to hurt people, but this is one of the times we told you that it was ok. They want to take you away from mommy and daddy, and the rest of our family. And they want to hurt all of us. This is the one exception that we will let you do this. This will be the only way for us to get you back so we can go back home. Please, sweet girl…** I thought to her, with as much motherly authority and love that I could muster up at that point.

**Ok…** she responded, kind of worriedly.

Edward's head snapped to me from his spot, holding Jasper.

'Are you crazy?' He mouthed to me.

I just raised an eyebrow at him, and for some reason, my motherly stare down came out in it… I felt like I was scolding my child, in a way.

Aro didn't really know what to think, from what I could tell. He knew that James was a liability to our kind. He has killed- not too discreetly, left evidence of him being there when he's killed someone, gone out in the sunlight. Edward told me about these things after our last encounter with him, and knew the Volturi should have gotten involved, but that would still lead back to us, and we wanted to keep them away as long as possible.

Alice has, for the most part, calmed Jasper down… to a point that he's not struggling to get out of Edward and Emmett's hold. Carlisle and Esme were standing to the side of me, and Rosalie was on my other side.

"He has paid for his transgressions, so he will be immune from any of that. He has shown his worth to us." Aro said, like it completely explains away the breaking of the most important vampire law.

"I really don't give a fuck if you think that his ratting on us, to get to me, passes for you so you could get our daughter. You're no better than a corrupt government that has gone too far." I seethed at him.

I guess Olivia finally got a hold on Jane's gift, because we saw a few of the Volturi guard fall to their knees. They were writhing in pain on the ground for a few minutes, until it suddenly stopped.

"Jane! What is the meaning of this?" Aro asked, looking back at his favorite little minion.

Jane looked even more shocked than the rest of them. "Master, I don't know what's going on. I didn't do this…" She tried to explain to him.

"Jane, you are the only one that has the ability to do that. So would you care to explain what happened?" Aro snapped at her.

_Wow, even the favored one gets bitched out._

Jane was looking a little flustered at this point. She obviously had no clue that my little Olivia was doing it.

"Master, I promise I did not do it. Why would I harm our own guard? Or my own brother?" Jane said, getting a tiny bit defensive.

Aro didn't get a chance to respond, because he was suddenly on the ground, like the others were earlier. Along with the rest of the Volturi.

James, however, was still standing.

"What the hell are you fuckers doing? How are you doing that?" James asked, in a rage, and even a little worried.

**Livy? Him too, baby. I can't get to you if he's still standing.** I thought to my little girl.

She just nodded.

"What? What are you doing, you little brat?" James asked her, frustrated, and holding her a little harder.

I could tell when Olivia started focusing on him. Her eyes became a bit harder, for a child, anyways. And a slight shaking to James' frame started, then he fell to the ground, as well.

I was over there, scooping her up in my arms in the blink of an eye. Edward was right behind me, holding the both of us for dear life.

Then, all of the Cullens were in action. Carlisle and Esme were ripping apart Marcus and Caius. Emmett and Rosalie were taking care of Felix and Demetri. Alice and Jasper were working on Alec and Jane.

We left Aro and James for last. We wanted them to see what had become of their little plan.

Jasper and Emmett had started a fire for the Volturi.

I was holding Olivia to me and trying to shield her from seeing, as Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper and Carlisle tossed pieces of body into the fire.

Alice and Esme had come over to the three of us.

"So what are we doing with the two of them? We're not going to just let them go, are we?" Esme asked.

I shook my head. "No. I want Alice to be the one to take her own justice from James. And Aro is going to watch his pan fail, in front of him. At this point, I don't care for answers. I know that all he wanted was to have the 'ultimate fighting group' as his guard, so no one would try to overthrow him in the future."

They both nodded, Alice looking like she was happy that she would be able to exact her revenge on the person who violated her.

"Livy, sweetie, I want you to pull back on Jane's gift." I told her quietly and calmly.

She just nodded and we saw Aro and James' bodies calm from the fiery torment.

After a few moments, James was up and looking around. "What the hell just happened? And who did it?" He asked, looking around but seeing none of the Volturi still standing. And watching as the others were tossing parts into the fire. "That little fucking brat did this, didn't she?" He said, narrowing his eyes at my baby.

"Yeah, she did. So what are you going to do? All of your Volturi friends are dead, except for Aro here, and you're a little outnumbered. There's not a whole lot that you can do right now." Edward kind of taunted him.

Apparently James was going to run, because the moment he turned around, Edward was right there to stop him. "You think you can just run after what you've done? No, you're going to pay for everything you've done, or thought of doing to my family." Edward seethed.

James actually looked afraid, as well he should. He knew he'd never make it out of here alive.

Carlisle and Rosalie were holding Aro in place so he wouldn't run. And Jasper and Emmet came over to help with James.

Edward looked over at Alice. "Ali? Honey, this is your show. Do what you want." He waved towards James.

Alice looked at Edward and I knew they were having one of their conversations, and Edward finally nodded.

Alice walked over to where Jasper and Emmett were holding James by the arms. "You don't deserve to live. You're repulsive, vindictive, rude, and a self-centered bastard. I hope the fiery pits of hell are a nightmare for you. Because you will never leave there." Alice said in a cold, but completely calm voice. That, right there is what he should have been afraid of. She's deadly when she's like that.

Then without even thinking about it, she jumped on him and ripped his head from his body, and we all listened, with joy, to the sound of stone and screeching metal as it happened.

Jasper and Emmett then ripped his arms from his torso then tossed them into the fire, along with the rest of him.

After James had been dealt with, we all turned to Aro.

It was Carlisle who spoke this time. "Aro, in all the year I have known you, I have known you to be nothing but a despicable man. You cannot just think you can put together an army for yourself, and recruit them against their will. One of them will revolt against you at some point. But, not that you have to worry about that anymore. But I wanted you to know that your miserable excuse for an existence will show others how not to conduct their lives. I hope you at least did one thing in your life that was in some way, redeeming. Otherwise, hell will take no pity on you."

And with that, Aro was no more, at the hands of Carlisle and Edward. He soon joined the fire of the rest of his group.

Olivia got down from my arms and I could tell she was trying to process all of this. But then she looked up at me. "What are we gonna do now, momma?" She asked, sweetly.

I smiled at her and knelt down in front of her. "We are going to go home, my love. And we are going get ready for your birthday." I told her, and then kissed her sweet little nose.

She squealed like I had never seen before, then ran off to her daddy. I followed her over to him, then gave him one last kiss, before we took off towards home.

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><p>THE END<p>

…Maybe, anyways.

I want to thank all of you for reading this story and following along with me. You guys have been so great. I really wasn't sure where this story was going to go, but I was happy with how it turned out.

I am thinking about doing a short epilogue, so you have an idea of how things are further down the road for them.

I can't thank my beta enough for all she's done to help me with this story. I love my sorella. Muahs!

And for possibly the last time,

Laters!

Amy


	20. Chapter 20

Hiya! (for the last time with this story )

So this is the epilogue, of sorts. Just a final little chapter.

I can't tell you all how much it's meant to me that you've read and liked this story. And thank you all for your reviews!

Sapphire- yes I read There Will Be Freedom, and I abso-freaking-lutely love it! It's one that I religiously read.

And Magda (TheFlutteryButterfly) you're awesome! I live for those reviews! Lol thanks for talking with me

If anyone hasn't read her story, 'Back Home' by TheFlutteryButterfly, READ IT! I LOOOOOVVVVEEEE IIIIIITTTTTTT!

Anywhos, you guys know the drill by now, LaurieWhitlock, my Lola, is my beta and has been amazing through this whole process. Loves ya, muahs!

And SM owns it, and sadly *sigh* I don't.

Read on!

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><p>Chapter 20<p>

BPOV

_Should I really feel old when my daughter is really only four but looks to be about fifteen or sixteen?_ I mused as I watched my husband and daughter play chess on the floor of the living room… again.

They always tried to outdo the other. They would religiously do this, once a week, and see if they could outsmart the other. I found it to be hilarious when Edward would lose because he always looked like a fish out of water, and then get a look of pride on his face, then sulk.

Have I mentioned how gorgeous our daughter has become?

She has got to be the most beautiful thing on the planet. Even more beautiful that Rose, which is saying a whole hell of a lot. She's even admitted it, too.

Olivia… well she looks like a stunning young woman. She's tall, lean, and toned. She has a great figure for someone who looks sixteen. Her features are the absolute perfect mixture of Edward and me. Her bronze colored hair flows down her back in soft curls, much like my chocolate brown hair does. Her deep brown eyes have a beautiful ring of gold in them. It was weird when we first noticed it, but as we put things together, we realized it was just a part of her being a vampire.

She really is a looker. I'm dreading the day we put her into the public school system. Every single guy is going to be after her. But her daddy and I will be right there with her.

_That ought to be interesting…_

We still have at least another year until we need to move, though.

But right now, the game is at it's peak. They've been at it for the majority of the day, and are currently on their longest 'battle' so far. It's been three hours… normally they're done within forty-five minutes, at the most. So when it came up on an hour and a half, I knew this was going to be a big one.

Oh, I forgot, they've taken one of Jasper and Emmett's chess 'concepts' and have four boards put together to make one massive chess game… Yeah, they love a challenge.

All of the others have gathered around the game, as well, because they know as well as I do that when this game is over, there's going to be a blow up on one of the two sides.

This, we've also learned over the years. When Edward loses in a big game like this, he usually runs out of the house and knocks over a tree… or two… One time he actually went through the back window because he couldn't be bothered to use the door… When Olivia loses, you usually have to watch out. If she's quiet, then that's the worst thing. That means she's thinking of something, and she's mad. Then she'll mess with people's emotions, or she'll go into the kitchen and start cooking, which we taught her how to do; she's actually really good, and makes the biggest mess you've ever seen. Olivia even tackled Edward, once. It was a big game, like this one, and she was so close to winning and then Edward pulled the rug out from under her, and made the ultimate play, making him the winner. She was so flustered and frustrated that she lunged at him. "_Daddy! That's not fair! How'd you beat me?" _She had scuffled around with him_. _We had to ban her from going to the river after a game because the last time she did, the bottom floor of the house got flooded.

Yeah, so they're just slightly competitive.

As we're all watching, I can feel someone's eyes on me. I look around, and I don't really think it's anyone in the house. But I could also just be paranoid. We don't have to worry about James or the Volturi anymore. So there's no threat there. Yeah, I've gotta just be paranoid.

Aaaaannd Olivia just beat her daddy at chess…again. _Ooooh he is not gonna be a happy camper._

Don't get me wrong, Edward is so proud of how good Olivia is at chess. But that competitive nature in him, in BOTH of them, becomes its own entity.

I sighed and looked over at him. "Edward, don't do anything stupid. I don't want to have to rebuild the garage again."

True story. He got mad, ran out of the house, grabbed trees up from out of the ground and started chunking them everywhere. We were lucky he didn't hit the house. The garage wasn't so lucky.

This time, he seems to be confused. "Yes, I'm confused, Bells. How did you do that, Livy? There was no way, I made sure." He tried to reason.

_Huh, well a confused Edward means an intact house… at least I hope._

Edward whipped his head towards me and pointed. "Zip it, Skippy." He mock glared at me.

I sauntered over to him and wrapped my arms around him. "Aww baby, it's ok to lose. Just remember, you're the one that taught her, so you only have yourself to blame." I teased him.

And before he could react, I was out the back door.

As I was jumping the river, I could feel him behind me. Once my feet were on the ground on the other side, they left the ground again when he tackled me to the ground.

We landed in a heap, near the tree line, laughing hysterically.

"You know, little girl, you could get into major trouble, teasing me like that." He smirked at me.

I leaned up and kissed his lips. "Yeah, but you love me, regardless of how much I tease you. Because you know I'm the only one, besides Livy, that can get away with it." I smiled.

He kissed me back. "Yeah, you're right…" He started, but his head snapped up and searched around us.

"What is it?" I asked as we both stood up. I could hear the others running out towards us.

"She's been in the trees for part of the day. I just saw what was going on with her." Alice told Edward.

"Who? Who's out there?" I asked, a little frustrated.

Edward turned to look behind me, narrowing his eyes.

_Great, another person who seems to want to hurt one of us. Awesome…_

"It seems to be James' 'mate'. The one he would go back and forth to. She's obviously pissed because we killed him." Edward said, not taking his eyes away from the trees.

**Is she dangerous?** I asked him in my thoughts. I didn't know how close she was to us.

"I'm not sure. I don't think so, but she's very sly." Edward whispered, where only the few of us could hear him.

I kept an eye on the trees, also. After a couple of minutes, I saw a red head up high in one of the trees. She had a very menacing look on her face. And yes, she looks _very_ pissed.

"Dad…" Livy started to say while she hung on to his shirt sleeve, but Edward pushed her behind him.

"Liv! I don't want you in the middle of this." Edward warned her in his fatherly voice.

**Mooooom**. She whined to me in her thoughts.

"Olivia Rae Masen Cullen, don't you dare try to do that shit. You're dad wants you out of danger, don't argue." I gave her my motherly tone. She knows to leave it alone after that.

She sulked for a bit.

The red head jumped out of the tree and was in front of us in a flash.

"I know who you all are, and I know that you killed James. You're not going to get away with it though. I will find a way to destroy each of you." The woman said in a viscous tone.

_Well nine against one isn't really an easy win for her…_

"Victoria, you do realize how many times James has strayed from you, right? How many women, human and vampire he's slept with? You have to know you were nothing more than a convenience to him." Edward tried to explain to her.

She didn't seem to care about any of that.

"It was a mutual deal between us, as mates. We would always come back to each other. But that doesn't excuse the fact that you killed him. You took away the one constant thing I had in my life." Victoria snarled.

Oooh yeah, she's definitely pissed, and I don't think we're going to get her to understand anything of what he did.

"Was he going to take you to Volterra? He was already on his way there, and didn't seem to care if you were going with him or not." I tried this time.

She just narrowed her eyes at me. "He would have come back for me, and brought me with him. You don't know him like I did."

"Yes, well the rapist, kidnapper, and sex addict are the only parts of him we've seen. So forgive us if we haven't exactly seen a saint any of the times we've come across him." Alice snapped.

"Oh I never said he was a saint, I just said you don't know him like I do." Victoria sneered.

I felt Edward stiffen beside me, and I looked up at him. "What?" I asked, quietly.

"She's helped him…" He said, hoarsely.

I heard growls from all around us, including my own.

_She helped him attack his victims? What kind of heartless bitch is she?_

"_No, no, no, no…" _I heard chanting from Olivia.

Then I saw from the corner of my eye as she straightened up, and stared Victoria down.

Then we all jumped as Victoria was consumed by fire.

No one had even moved before…

Then, she was nothing but a pile of smoke and ash.

"Oh shit!"

"What just happened?"

"Oh my God!"

We all looked around at each other, then our gaze landed on Olivia, who was staring at where Victoria had been standing… smirking.

I would think it was cute because it was the same way her daddy did it, but, hold up, how…

"No fucking way!"

"What?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"How?"

Olivia just looked at us innocently, and then took off into the woods, laughing.

"Oh holy fuck…"

THE END

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><p>So, there you have it. We're done with this story!<p>

I hope you guys have enjoyed this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

And those of you who are wondering about Olivia's middle name, it's Rose, Alice and Esme's first initials in one name. I just wanted something interesting:D

My rec for the week was obviously at the top, so READ IT!

I get to push the 'complete' button! Yaaayyy! (don't ask, I'm just weird like that. Lol)

LATERS!


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